#all I need is a proper clothes shopping spree and I will be perfect

[starsjulia]

luxury and lace // leah williamson

leah williamson x spoilt reader

a/n : i know quite a bit of this is inaccurate, but i am currently skint and dreaming of a luxury shopping spree

warnings : suggestive, and that’s really all!!

It wasn’t uncommon for her to surprise you with spontaneous shopping trips, but this particular Saturday was different. Leah had sensed you’d had a tough week and decided that today would be all about pampering you. So, she insisted on taking you to Bond Street, one of the most upscale shopping destinations in London.

The day began with Leah picking you up early, a playful grin on her face as she drove the two of you into the city. You knew that look—it meant you were in for a day of indulgence, whether you liked it or not. But of course, you did like it. You loved how attentive Leah was, how much she enjoyed making you feel special.

As soon as you arrived, Leah wasted no time. The first stop was Gucci. The store was quiet, its plush interiors and soft lighting creating an atmosphere of luxury. Leah immediately began browsing through the racks, her eyes sharp as she sought out pieces she knew would look perfect on you.

“This one,” she said, pulling out a sleek black dress with a plunging neckline, the fabric shimmering subtly under the store lights. “You’re tryin’ this on, love.”

You took the dress from her, smirking. “Are you sure you can handle it if I wear something this daring?”

Leah’s eyes sparkled with mischief. “Handle it? Babe, the real question is, can you handle the way I’ll be lookin’ at you all night?”

Heat rushed to your cheeks at her words, and without another word, you headed to the changing room. The dress fit like a dream, clinging to your body in all the right places. When you stepped out to show Leah, her reaction was immediate—her gaze darkened, and her lips parted slightly as she took you in.

“Proper stunnin’,” she murmured, stepping closer to adjust the straps on your shoulders, her fingers brushing your skin in a way that sent shivers down your spine. “This is non-negotiable. We’re buyin’ it.”

“Leah, it’s so expensive,” you protested weakly, knowing full well that Leah wouldn’t back down once she made up her mind.

“Price don’t matter when it comes to you,” she replied smoothly, her eyes meeting yours in the mirror with an intensity that made your heart skip a beat.

Before you could argue further, Leah had already signaled to the sales associate, handing over her card with a practiced ease that made you smile. As you changed back into your clothes, you couldn’t help but feel a warm glow of affection for her. Leah was always like this—determined to make you feel like the most important person in the world.

Next, you made your way to Louis Vuitton. The store was a haven of luxury, with its iconic monogram prints displayed proudly on every shelf. Leah’s eyes were already scanning the collection of bags as you walked in.

“How about this one?” she asked, holding up a chic crossbody.

You bit your lip, admiring the bag. “It’s beautiful, but do I really need another one?”

Leah’s lips curled into a knowing smile. “Need? Maybe not. But deserve? Babe, you deserve the world.”

You laughed, shaking your head at her logic, but there was no denying how perfect the bag was. Leah could read you like a book, and she knew exactly what would make your heart flutter. She insisted on purchasing the bag, adding it to the growing collection of items she was spoiling you with that day.

From Louis Vuitton, you wandered into Cartier. Leah’s eyes immediately gravitated toward a delicate bracelet in gold, adorned with small diamonds that caught the light beautifully.

“This would look gorgeous on you,” she said, already envisioning it on your wrist.

You raised an eyebrow, giving her a teasing smile. “Leah, are you trying to claim me with jewelry now?”

Leah chuckled, wrapping her arms around your waist from behind and pulling you close. “Maybe I am. Should get my name engraved in it. Gotta make sure everyone knows you’re mine, yeah?”

You turned your head slightly to meet her gaze, feeling the warmth of her breath on your neck. “Not bad at all.”

The bracelet was yours before you could even protest, Leah slipping it onto your wrist herself, her fingers grazing your skin in a way that made you tingle all over. She kissed the inside of your wrist after fastening the clasp, a gesture so sweet and intimate it made your heart swell with love.

The next stop was Chanel, where Leah couldn’t resist picking out a pair of back heals.

“These are a must,” she declared. “They’ll go perfectly with that dress we just bought.”

You tried on the heals, feeling a rush of confidence as they elevated your outfit—and your height—by several inches. Leah’s approval was immediate, her gaze sweeping over you with a mix of admiration and desire.

“You really have it all planned out, don’t you?” you teased as you walked around in the pumps, testing their comfort.

Leah grinned, her eyes following your every movement. “When it comes to you, always, babe. Gotta make sure my girl’s the best-dressed wherever she goes.”

From Chanel, the two of you made your way to Sephora. Leah knew how much you loved trying out new makeup and skincare products, so she insisted you pick out anything you wanted. You spent a good hour browsing through the aisles, swatching lipsticks, testing perfumes, and sampling the latest skincare lines.

“Do you think this color suits me?” you asked, holding up a shade of lipstick.

Leah nodded, moving closer to inspect it on you. “It’s perfect. But you should get a few others too, just in case you wanna switch it up.”

You chuckled, knowing that Leah wouldn’t let you leave without at least a few bags of makeup and skincare products. She insisted on getting you a new fragrance she thought you’d love and a high-end eyeshadow palette that had caught your eye.

With several Sephora bags in hand, Leah led you to Victoria’s Secret. As soon as you walked in, Leah’s eyes lit up with that familiar glint of mischief, and you knew you were in for some fun.

The store was filled with soft, sensual lighting and racks of lingerie in every shade and style imaginable. Leah wasted no time, immediately gravitating towards a section filled with delicate lace sets. Her fingers trailed over the fabrics, picking out pieces she knew you’d love—or, rather, pieces she knew she’d love seeing you in.

“Here we go,” she said, pulling out a deep red set with intricate lace detailing that left little to the imagination. “This one’s got your name written all over it.”

You couldn’t help but laugh at her enthusiasm. “Are you sure you’re picking this out for me and not for yourself?”

Leah’s grin was nothing short of wicked. “Bit of both, maybe. But mostly for me, yeah?”

Your cheeks warmed at the way she looked at you, her eyes dark with intent. She handed you the set and gently nudged you towards the fitting rooms.

“Go on, try it on. I wanna see how it looks.”

You raised an eyebrow, a teasing smile tugging at your lips. “You know, I might need some help getting into this one.”

Leah didn’t miss a beat. “Is that an invitation?”

“Maybe,” you replied coyly, biting your lip as you led the way to the fitting rooms, Leah following close behind.

Once inside, the door barely closed behind you before Leah’s hands were on your hips, turning you to face her. She looked down at you with that same mischievous glint in her eyes, her fingers already toying with the hem of your shirt.

“Alright then, let’s see what we’ve got here,” she murmured, her voice low and teasing.

You giggled, feeling the heat rise in your cheeks as Leah helped you out of your clothes, her touch slow and deliberate. She was taking her time, savoring every moment, and you could feel the intensity of her gaze as she watched your every reaction.

Finally, you were standing there in nothing but the lacy red set Leah had picked out, and the way she looked at you made you feel like the most beautiful woman in the world. Leah stepped back for a moment, taking in the sight before her, and you could see the raw desire in her eyes.

“Turn around,” she instructed, her voice huskier than before.

You did as she asked, feeling Leah’s eyes on you as you slowly spun around. When you faced her again, she had already closed the distance between you, her hands reaching out to gently touch the lace along your hips.

“Jesus, you’re somethin’ else,” she murmured, her breath hot against your skin as she leaned in closer. “I’m never letting you take this off.”

Your heart raced at the intensity in her voice, and you couldn’t resist teasing her. “You’ll have to, eventually.”

Leah smirked, her hands sliding up your sides, her touch setting your skin on fire. “We’ll see about that.”

She leaned in, her lips brushing against your ear as she whispered, “I’m buying this, and a few more. I’ve got plans for you, babe.”

You shivered at her words, feeling a thrill rush through you. “You’re spoiling me, you know that?”

Leah chuckled, pulling back just enough to look into your eyes. “And I’ll keep spoilin’ you every chance I get.”

With a final kiss to your shoulder, she reluctantly stepped back, letting you change out of the lingerie. You could see the reluctance in her eyes as you put your clothes back on, but there was also a promise there—a promise that tonight, when you were back home, she’d pick up right where she left off.

When you emerged from the fitting room, Leah was waiting with a satisfied grin, her hands already full of a few more sets she’d picked out while you were changing. She handed them to the sales associate without even glancing at the price tags, her focus entirely on you.

As you left the store, Leah’s arm draped casually around your shoulders, she leaned in to whisper in your ear. “Can’t wait to see you in all that… and then out of it.”

You laughed, playfully shoving her away. “You’re impossible, you know that?”

She grinned, unfazed. “Only when it comes to you, babe.”

The two of you continued your shopping spree, visiting a few more designer stores where Leah picked out everything from a stunning evening gown to a pair of sunglasses that she claimed made you look like a movie star. By the time you were done, you could barely carry all the bags, but Leah was right there beside you, more than happy to shoulder the load.

As you walked down the street together, the sun beginning to set behind the London skyline, you couldn’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude and love for the woman beside you. Leah might be tough and commanding on the pitch, but when it came to you, she was the most loving, generous partner you could ever ask for.

And as the two of you made your way back to the car, Leah’s arm never leaving your shoulders, you knew that no matter where life took you, Leah would always be there, ready to spoil you with not just gifts, but with her endless devotion and love.

[dodorimo]

something old, something new - part 2

continuation to this. Raphtav. 1.6k

Raphael actually appears here. Car sex ensues.

AO3 link

· · ──────  ❊  ────── · ·

“Can we expect little ones soon?”

The coffee spews out of her mouth in a perfect arch. For an instant, she must’ve looked like one of those tacky, fish-like water fountains you often see in gardens.

Did Astarion wait until she took a big sip so she would make an even bigger mess? The bastard.

Tav quickly assesses the damage. Her new clothes have been spared, thankfully. The same couldn’t be said for the restaurant's table.

Their shopping spree had been a success. Somewhere along the way, Astarion convinced her she was in dire need of new jewelry, which brought up the matter of her complete lack of proper beachwear, and so on. There were almost too many bags to carry, all of them were from different brands: Hermès, Tiffany, Dior, Sephora (that last one was a little self-indulgence of hers).

“We’ve too much on our plate to worry about kids,” she said, grabbing a napkin to clean up her mess.

Raphael as a father? Hell would first freeze over.

“When you say ‘we’ do you mean ‘we both individually’ or ‘we’ as in ‘I don’t want it’?” He emphasizes his point by making quotation marks with his fingers. “With how quickly he put a ring on it, you’d think he’s plugging you full every night.”

And there goes the last sip of her coffee. Out of her mouth.

The lewd picture he conjured aside, she had to disagree that it was really that fast. Four months of dating is a perfectly reasonable amount of time for people over 30. Right? … Right?

“‘We’ as in ‘we’ have no vocation to be parents.”

“Hm. A shame.” Astarion makes a face. “Some would argue you two are too pretty for your union not to bear fruit,” he says and takes a bite off his ice cream… A bite. With his teeth. She’s pretty sure this is the first time she’s seen anyone do that.

“What’s your excuse?” she deflected. “You should’ve an army of nose-pickers by now.”

That managed to shut him up.

She seizes the opportunity to lazily scroll through her social media feed. All afternoon, she and Astarion joked about all the ways Raphael would get back on her for her (presumably) dress transgression. They had plenty of ideas: he would send her a text (signed with his initials, as he usually does), then come pick her up in his limo to give her a ‘stern talking to’. All meaningless jest, of course. With no basis in reality. None.

That's why when the notification pops up on her screen, she thinks it's her mind playing tricks on her. But the more she stares at it, the less likely it is to go away.

[17h14]  ❤︎ Million Dollar Man ❤︎ said: I’m outside - R

“Guess you're going to have to hitch a ride on your own now.” She tilts her phone so Astarion can read the message too. “Mine just arrived.”

Astarion sends her a look over his silver-rimmed sunglasses. He doesn’t seem fazed. “Oh my. Speak of the devil.”

They say their goodbyes (and in his case, good luck) and then she’s off to search for her fiancée. It doesn’t take long. In fact, it doesn’t take time at all. Parked at the front of the street and taking up most of the space is a black limousine.

Why the limousine today and not one of his many sports cars? She would’ve more luck making sense of a physics problem.

The car takes off the moment she gets in. She holds on to her seat to keep from tipping over. Gods, she forgot how fast those things were.

She remembers her first ride. The giddy smile on her face. Do you see me now, mother? It seems almost banal now.

Sitting across from her, Raphael is a sight worthy of a magazine cover. He’s dressed in a three-piece black suit today, with a burgundy tie and a golden watch on his wrist.

In other words, he’s looking every inch the filthy rich man he is.

Tav almost feels bad about her waist-high jeans and loose ponytail. Almost.

“You have coffee on your shirt,” are his first words to her.

And, just like that, all her goodwill goes out the window. She tactfully adjusts her hair so it covers the offending stain. “Hello to you too,” she mumbles.

Something is plaguing him today. His fingers drum on his thigh in a frantic staccato. Whatever he wanted to say to her, he didn’t like it at all. Thankfully, she finds out soon enough.

“I need a plus one for today’s inauguration party.”

“But I thought that was…”

“Taken care of?” He waves a dismissive hand. “So did I. Change of plans. Out of my control.” Annoyance reduced his usual flowery language to a series of short sentences. That bad, huh.

Today is her day off. He’s in big trouble.

“You’ll be thoroughly rewarded.” This is the closest he’d come to pleading with her.

The effort is good enough. She nods, a small smile playing on her lips.

Raphael lets out a sigh and it's as if the weight of the world has been lifted from his shoulders. She’s still staring at him expectantly, though. Was that really all?

“So… you didn’t come for the dress?”

For some reason, he found this hilarious. “Why? Is there something you wish to tell me, my dear?”

She doesn’t have to answer. The car slows down; they’ve arrived at their destination. His penthouse, by the looks of it. The one on the main street, to be more specific.

“Daniella will brief you on the details when you get there.” The mirth he showed earlier is gone. He’s all business now.

“You’re not staying?”

“I have other matters to attend to before the party. I’ll meet you there.” He moves to open the door.

“Wait.” She holds his wrist and looks at him in the eye, hoping her pouty lips and pleading gaze would convey her meaning.

Fortunately for her, it does.

Raphael tastes like whiskey and freshly picked cherries. The kiss starts slowly, a mere touch of lips, before evolving into something more intense, passionate. She gets lost in him, in the feeling of his body pressing against hers and his hand cupping her breast.

He pulls away suddenly. He almost seems angry at her, with his ragged breath and furrowed brow. She hears the door closing with a soft click.

“Ten minutes.”

Then he kisses her again.

Tav smiles against his lips. This is a lot more than she was going for.

Raphael parts from her just long enough to check if the privacy screen that separates the car from the driver’s seat is closed. It is.

As with most things where he was concerned, she struggled to wrap her head around his bed habits. He had all the pomp of a man who wanted to be in control, while sparing none of the effort.

But there is an appeal in the challenge, in the idea of bending him to her wishes. Just as she knows he would be doing the same to her.

With practiced ease, she pulls out his cock from his trousers and kneels in front of him. The car is big enough for her to do so without issue.

Tav knows by now just how much he enjoys a show. Almost as much as he enjoys the feeling itself. So she gives him what he wants.

She starts by teasing the sensitive skin at the base of his cock, her hand fondling his balls. He sucks in a breath. He doesn’t want to let her know how eager he is already. As if she couldn’t tell.

He's not idle, in the sense that he talks her through it. Praises her at every move, telling her how good her tongue feels on him, how pretty she looks with his cock down her throat, what a naughty little whore she is who couldn’t wait until they’re out of the public eye.

Tav wasn't completely honest with Astarion. Raphael is good at this. At telling her what to do. On most days, his voice alone is enough to get her off.

He commands her to pull up her shirt, move faster, put her little fingers between her legs. Where are the manners he showed her just now?

She kisses him and takes him whole and makes that little wet noise halfway between a kiss and a suck that he likes so much. She even gives her tongue a few taps with his cock. In a matter of minutes, he’s close to the edge.

“Get up.” Sweat runs down his temples as he struggles to keep hold of himself. “I’m finishing inside you.”

“I…it’s that time of the month.” She swears she told him.

For a frightening moment, he seems to be weighing his options, before deciding on sinking his fingers into her hair, pulling her to him. “Finish what you started.”

Gladly.

The hand at the back of her neck gives her little choice. She swallows everything he has to give, little tears pricking her eyes and, when it’s done, she sticks out her tongue for his perusal. Not a drop to be seen.

His smile is wide as he gives her cheek a playful slap. She is being dismissed.

She watches him as he fixes his clothes. His hair is disheveled in all the places her fingers touched. There’s a hint of pride in knowing she was the cause, in knowing she was the one to make a dent in his perfectly manicured facade.

It is only for the sake of her rebellious womb that she doesn’t guide his fingers to her wet cunt so he can finish what he started. Disgust be damned.

“Later then.” 

She gives him one last look before the door closes. His voice is husky when he finally answers, evoking a pet name coined long ago.

“Until later, little mouse.”

[your-divine-ribs]

I’m With the Band Part 8

Words: 1.5k

I’m With the Band Masterlist Main Masterlist

There's an air of excitement over breakfast the next morning, and it's not just the loaded glances that me and Johnny share over the cereal boxes.

Larry has his mobile phone out on the table and it vibrates with a message every few minutes.

"For goodness sake Larry, can't you put that away whilst we're all eating?" My aunt sounds exasperated.

"But mam, it's Reading and bloody Leeds!" Larry exclaims. "Everyone's buzzing for it! First the UK tour, and now this. The band are gonna hit the big time, I just know it!"

"And what are you going to do then if they do?" My aunt says, a serious expression on her face. "Are you going to go and get yourself a proper job?"

"I've got a proper job!" Larry protests, and then he goes into great detail about his role in the band and how important he is, not that my aunt's listening. She's tutting and rolling her eyes, much to Larry's consternation.

"Don't worry son, I think you do a fabulous job!" My uncle says, giving Larry an affectionate slap on the back.

I catch Johnny's eye across the table and he shoots me a huge grin which I return and a warm glow spreads through me. What's wrong with me? I never let guys get under my skin and now here I am, exchanging secretive smiles and blushing like a silly school-girl!

I need to be careful of this one I think, looking down at my cup of tea.

Johnny and Larry disappear soon after breakfast on 'important band business' and I resolve to spend the rest of the day pampering myself ahead of the Manchester gig.

To be honest, even though the whole indie band boy thing really attracts me, I've never been much into going to gigs. The idea of dancing in a sea of sweaty bodies and being pressed up against someone's armpit at the barrier doesn't really fill me with excitement, but I suppose I need to show willing if I'm going to try and get invited on tour with the lads.

I rifle through my wardrobe but everything just looks too dressy, and as for my shoes? I like to impress but the thought of getting my Louboutin heels scuffed makes me feel nauseous. Also I'd be likely to break my neck if I got caught up in a mosh pit. I hate to admit it but I really need to tone it down for tonight.

The good news is my dad has topped up my allowance, and thankfully my aunt has a free day so she agrees to takes me into Liverpool city centre for a shopping spree. Llandudno's High Street just doesn't cut it unfortunately.

"Come on Bells. You ready? All the lads are waiting for ya!"

I'm just finishing applying little wings to my eyeliner when Larry knocks on my bedroom door.

"You can't rush perfection!" I shout out to him, standing back and appraising myself in the full-length mirror.

I had the best intentions of buying purely casual clothing, but something just doesn't feel right when I'm not dressed to kill. I've opted for a skin-tight low-cut tiny black dress which I dress down a little by throwing a denim shirt on top. I finish off the outfit with some fishnets and the docs that I bought grudgingly when I'd asked the shop assistant for some advice on footwear.

I'd cringed at the idea of wearing them rather than my signature heels, but actually, now I'm all dressed up with my make-up just right and my long hair cascading down my back in soft waves I've got to admit I do look the part.

The boys certainly agree. Well... Van in particular is very vocal in his appreciation. Johnny's a little more subtle with a small smile and a modest compliment, which Benji echoes. Bob doesn't say a word after greeting me, but the surreptitious glances he snatches at me make me smile to myself. He's definitely checking me out.

"What the hell? I'm not getting in that!" I wrinkle up my nose as Van grasps the back door handle of a huge white transit style van that's sitting on Larry's driveway.

"Come on Bella! It's not that bad. We've been around the whole country in this. Slept in it and everything!"

I imagine going on tour with the boys in a week's time. Them coming off stage, drenched in sweat and in dire need of a shower, bedding down on sleeping bags in the back of the van. Me lying there, sandwiched between their clammy, stinky bodies. When I envisaged getting hot and sweaty with the boys it wasn't quite what I had in mind.

Benji steps forward to slide his bass guitar case into the back and then turns to me with a smile. "Don't worry, this isn't what we'll be travelling around in next week! We have actually got a proper tour bus booked for that. And we've got a hotel booked in Manchester for tonight. We're only travelling down in this for tonight as the crew are meeting us there."

"Yeah, of course, we wouldn't expect Princess Bella to rough it!" Larry sniggers.

"Princess Bella? I love it!" Van laughs loudly, whilst I glare daggers at Larry.

"Got a massive suite booked for tonight!" Van carries on enthusiastically, using his hands to demonstrate the grand scale. "Wait till ya see it. It's gonna be dead posh. I've already bagged the master bedroom..."

He sidles over at that point, draping an arm over my shoulder and grinning cheekily at me. "Bet the bed's gonna be huge... plenty of room for sharing!"

I steal a glance at Johnny who quickly looks down, fiddling with the fastenings of his guitar case. I side-step quickly away from Van.

"Perfect - there's plenty of room for Larry to share with you then!" I announce.

When we arrive at the venue I'm astounded to see a hoard of fans waiting outside and a queue snaking itself around the outside of the building. I'd not thought for one minute that the band would be so well-known. A little spark of pride lights inside me as we all clamber out the van and immediately hear the fans start to call the boys' names. The girls all seem to be going crazy over Van in particular and it's really not hard to see why. Despite him annoying the hell out of me, I can't deny how gorgeous he is. He stands there waving at the crowd with a dazzling grin, positively glowing as he basks in their adoration. I find myself automatically moving towards him and snaking an arm around his waist. Seeing all these girls losing their shit over him has suddenly made his attractiveness increase a hundred-fold.

"See that Bella?" He says, wonder in his voice. "This is what it's all about. Making music for the fans. Look how excited they are!"

"I didn't realise there'd be so many, there must be hundreds of people here," I say in awe.

"Venue holds 4000 and we've almost sold out," Van says proudly. "Not bad for saying we've not officially released any music yet, eh?"

Some crew from the venue appear and start unloading all the lads' equipment and Benji, Larry, Bob and Johnny all disappear inside, but I hold back, lingering near Van. I can feel the eyes of some of the female fans burning into me with envy and I'm thoroughly enjoying the sensation.

"So how did you get so popular then?" I want to know.

I can see Van practically puffing his chest out as he talks, eager to talk about his band and their increasing popularity.

"We've worked so hard for this, we've not taken any shortcuts. Me and the lads would be out the night before a gig putting flyers up all over town, and then we'd go to festivals and stick CDs of our music under everyone's windscreen wipers in the car park. We turned up at one university campus dressed as ninjas! We just piled out the van, hooked up to a generator and started playing! Shit like that gets you noticed... and of course the music's class!"

"Well... we'll see about that," I say, impressed by his obvious passion but not wanting to show it.

Van looks surprised. "You've still not listened to us?"

"Thought I'd wait until I heard you live. See what all the fuss is about!"

Van grins and grabs hold of my hand tightly, urging me to follow him into the venue. "Well Princess Bella... you are definitely in for a treat!"

I make a show of rolling my eyes but my insides are actually teeming with excited butterflies. I glance back at the fans before I duck inside, shooting them a smug smile.

[kainscape]

Could you please write Jesse proposing to his s/o?

Jesse Cromeans ~ proposing to his S/O

(Reader wears a dress in this) also I’m uh back 🥲 my writing skills have went somewhere I’ll never know, but please have this!

It had floated around in his mind for longer than you’d imagine, just one of those things you think on. Marriage was a different course in Jesse’s life style, but not unwelcome. He’s never had a true, sound proof plan to propose to you. He felt almost intimidated by the whole thing, wanting you to feel over joyous but not overwhelmed. He couldn’t even think about you saying no without nervously wringing his hands and sighing.

It took him months before he actually decided on a ring. He’s went through magazines to walk ins, even fucking e-bay. He needed a big range for something like this, not wanting to miss out on the perfect jewel for you. He could envision it hugging your ring finger, shining bright like your smile.

Jesse always carries it with him, in his pants pocket or jacket ones. He’s constantly searching for the right time, so it’s best to stay prepared. You two traveled all over the place, trying to delight in the time you had together. You were smiling from everything, laughing at his jokes and whatever you thought about. You were so free it made him feel light, hand fiddling with the ring in his pocket.

You resided in one of the more wealthy stores, trying on clothes that you and him picked out. Mostly him shoving pieces of clothing towards you, along with a push to the rooms. He sat on the couch, legs open and arms across the back of the couch, he watched and admired. You looked good in everything, your favorites style complimenting you.

You came out in a darker piece of clothing, automatically gaining his praise just from the color. He looked you up and down with a head tilt, drunken gaze as he reached your face. Sometimes he just considered you soulmates, married without the physical reminder. But, as always, he needed it to be proper, for there to be multiple marks that you were tied.

You shuffled under his gaze, shyly smiling as you walked closer. “Do you like it?” You already knew the answer, trying to pull more from him. He always played along with you, his hand following along the hem of the dress when you were close enough. He was leaned forward now, wanting to nothing more than praise you in such a simple dress in front of everyone. But, he decided on just sliding his hands on your waist, feeling of the fabric as a way of saying he liked it.

It didn’t matter if you put some back, he would’ve bought them all anyways. You carried bags of clothes, all different brands too. It was most definitely a shopping spree, and it made you wonder what the occasion was. Well, it’s not the first time Jesse had you buy whatever you wanted for no reason. Yet, you always thought there might be something else, something more personal.

It was noon when you arrived home, Jesse bringing the car to the driveway with a slow stop. Instead of immediately unbuckling, you sat still just as he did. He seemed to be in thought, his hands slowly slipping off the wheel. You looked over at him, wanting to say anything to break the silence. His hands seemed to do the job, signing to you to hurry in and come back out in that ‘one dress.’ You wanted to question, to dig deeper, but you did what he said.

This gave Jesse time to.. prepare himself. He could almost wipe his hands on his pants because of the sweat. What was he scared of? Possible hesitance, or humiliation? Nothing could scare Jesse, but this… this intimidated him. No matter, the ring in his pants pocket awaited it’s home. Looking back at you coming from the front door, you looked perfect. He wanted you to be confident and feel good when he did this.

The car light came on when you hoped in, slowly shutting off as you buckled yourself back in. A slow breath made it’s way inside you, hand playing with the bottom belt. “Should I know where we’re heading, or is it another one of your surprises?” You smiled over at him, catching him already staring at you. Butterflies were going haywire in you, watching as he snapped out his daze, his hand coming up to move a piece of your hair away from your face. His thumb wiped across your bottom lip, lingering before he put the car in reverse and backed out the drive away once more. It made you consider what could actually being going on since Jesse failed to give you any give away. Y

The street lights flooded into the car every now and then, the radio on low volume as you enjoyed the moment. You were curious on where Jesse was heading, whether it would be somewhere new or one of your favorite places you’ve been. Your boyfriend was silent on the way, well, more than usual. This slight difference could make you nervous, but you looked over it. Little did you know, the silence was a cover up of what was truly going on in his mind. He felt as though if you touched his skull, it would burn your hand. His thoughts were flying everywhere as he got closer to the park.

He chose the park because of the lights and beautiful trail ways. Pulling up to one of the many parking spots closest to the entrance, he hoped out to open the door for you. His hand guided you out, closing the door for you. These gestures always warmed your heart, easing those worried thoughts. It was quite odd of him to make you wear a dress on a trail walk, but the view was good. The trees laced over each-other to cover the sky with a nature ceiling, fairy-lights hugging against the trunks. The walk was most enjoyable, Jesses grip on your hand making it just right.

Knocking you from your peaceful thoughts, you were almost halfway though when the man beside you slowed to a stop. This cause you tot turn around, a slight eyebrow raise. He looked down at you as always, both hands coming to your shoulders. What in the world was he doing? You couldn’t do anything but just watch what he did. His large hand slid down your arms, enveloping your hands before he kneeled down. Shock and adrenaline rushed though your body at this. You knew what he was doing by now, the small signs coming to light.

Jesses heart felt as though he just ran a whole mile, his right knee digging into the ground. He was finally here, looking up at you on the rare situations. He was so close, looking between your lips to your eyes, he just needed to reach for the ring. The silver and bejeweled band was revealed, looking extremely small between his fingers. Your gasp was choked, tears stinging your eyes. You almost couldn’t believe it, like it never occurred to you that Jesse would legally marry you. This expensive engagement ring would say other wise.

He let go of your hand to speak to you, a little frustrated at that part. “I need you to be mine in every way. Soul, mind, body..” he looked down at you left hand, slowly bringing it to his mask less lips. He looked back up at you, watching your reactions. He couldn’t tell whether this silence was good or bad, his ability to read people ineffective. He almost wanted to stand up and walk away, the anticipation getting to him. You were the only one who could make him feel such anxious feelings, you had that hold over him.

You’re eyes were stuck on his, mouth opening and closing as your vision blurred. All you could do was smile, nodding your head vigorously while you held your hand out. He quickly slipped it on, raising back up to sweep you of your feet. He wanted you close in this moment, holding you close in every way he could. Of course there will be excessive planning, multiple agreements and disagreements. That didn’t really matter to either of you right now as Jesse held you right against his chest.

Your scent filled his nose, such a familiar and grounding smell. This was something new for him, and he’d rather it be you than anyone else. In fact, he couldn’t imagine anybody else being here, causing him to feel, act and think life this. That’s how he knows this is true to him, this love. The love that led to hazardous thinking and rash decisions; the type to make you blind but see at the same time.

[tomhiddlestonfanfic]

The Luckiest Man in the World

CHAPTER NUMBER/ONE SHOT: One shot

WHICH TOM CHARACTER: Actor Tom

PAIRING: Tom Hiddleston/MaleReader

GENRE: Romance, Fluff

PICTURE CREDIT

REQUEST

AO3

TAGLIST: @waddlenut​ 

The Luckiest Man in the World

You smiled widely at Tom as you showed off the clothes you were trying on.

“Gorgeous,” he said smilingly. “We have to get those too.”

“You think?” you asked excitedly. “Tom, you’re spoiling me,” you objected half-heartedly.

“You know I love spoiling you,” Tom replied and handed you another pair of trousers, a dress shirt, a tie and a jacket. “Here, try these on,” he encouraged.

“Sure,” you agreed and took the clothes from him. You stepped back inside the changing room and quickly changed into yet another set of new clothes. It was a good day, you thought to yourself and smiled at your reflection in the mirror. You looked good and you felt excited about showing Tom. “Ta-da!” you said as you walked out of the changing room. Tom looked up from his phone and his face lit up at the sight of you. He put his phone in his pocket and walked up to inspect you. He corrected your shirt collar and straightened the tie.

“You look great,” he told you as he took a step back to have a proper look at you. “Just a second,” he said and went to grab a handkerchief and carefully fold it before putting it in your suit pocket. “Darling, you look perfect,” he said with a warm smile. “We’ll take that too,” he decided.

“Are you sure?” you asked, thinking about how expensive it was.

“Let me do this for you,” Tom requested.

“Okay,” you agreed. You wanted to make him happy, and if spoiling you with expensive clothes was making him happy, who were you to object?

“You could wear this at my next event. That is, if you want to come with me, of course,” Tom suggested. You froze and stared at him in shock.

“Would you like me to come with you? As your partner?” you asked hesitantly.

“I would,” Tom confirmed. “I’m ready to show the world what we’ve got. But ultimately, it’s up to you. Are you ready?”

“I…” you trailed off. Your mind was racing. You felt excited and scared at the same time. Scared of what people might say about you if you and Tom showed your love for each other in public.

“You don’t have to decide right now,” Tom assured you. “Just think about it.”

As you changed back into your ordinary clothes, you thought about his suggestion. You smiled at the thought of finally being able to kiss and hold hands with Tom in public.

When you got out of the changing room you walked up to Tom and kissed his soft lips.

“Let’s show the world then,” you told him and he grinned at you.

“Let’s show the world,” he agreed and brought you into another kiss.

The woman who was in the process of collecting all the clothes you were buying smiled endearingly at you.

“Would that be all?” she asked after carefully folding and placing the clothes in shopping bags with the store’s logo on them.

“I believe so,” Tom replied and covered the display with his hand so you wouldn’t see how much it all cost. “Thank you,” he said after the payment went through and collected all the bags.

“I could carry them,” you offered.

“I’m a gentleman,” Tom told you with a smile. “Let me carry them and focus on finding yourself a new pair of shoes.”

After your shopping spree and some dinner at a nice restaurant, you finally came home. The dog sitter and Bobby greeted you cheerfully.

“How was your day?” the dog sitter asked you and Tom. You smiled brightly at Bobby and bent down to greet him with a hug.

“It was good, thanks,” Tom told the dog sitter with a smile. “How was yours? Did Bobby behave?”

“He was a joy, as always,” the dog sitter assured him. They then looked at you and smiled. “Bye, [your name], bye Tom and bye Bobby. Have a great evening and just let me know if you need any more help with Bobby.”

“Thank you, have a great night,” you told them before they left.

“You look tired darling,” Tom said and gently stroked your cheek with his hand. “Let’s just watch a movie tonight, you can pick this time.”

“Okay,” you agreed with a bright smile. You were tired, but in a good way.

You felt utterly happy and satisfied as you sat down on the couch between Tom and Bobby. Tears filled your eyes as you thought about how lucky you were to have them both in your life.

“Darling, are you okay?” Tom asked concernedly. You nodded at him and smiled through your tears.

“It’s just happy tears,” you assured him. “I just feel like the luckiest man in the world.”

“So do I,” Tom said with a laugh before leaning in to kiss you. “So do I.”

[daretosnoop]

Chapter 1: The body in the Entrance

Here is it guys!

So, I changed the order of some event around to fit better with plot pacing. Also, I extended the mystery beyond one night because that gives me nothing to work with. 

I know I said that this is a romance between Henry and Nancy, but it’s not going to really be that because: 1. Who falls in love over the span of 4/5 days? 2. Henry can’t just go from one relationship to another 3. I have a hard time believing in quick love/relationships. I need foundation, and it’s reflected in my writing. 

I plan to continue the series beyond CRY, and build their relationship. So if you don’t ship, don’t worry, you can still read this.  I suggest listening to the soundtrack while you read to enhance the experience!

Had anyone asked Henry Bolet what love was, he would have had no answer. No honest answer, that is. Love was a parent’s devotion to their children. But his parents died when he was young, and their will somehow declared his father’s brother, Bruno Bolet, as a fit guardian. Love then, must be the desire to look after someone. But Bruno tossed him around from boarding school to military school. Summer and winter breaks were the only chance Henry got to see his uncle, but as he grew older he learned to use his sparse vacations more wisely. At twenty-five, he supposed he couldn’t complain much. Bruno never hurt him. He ensured Henry was clothed, fed, educated, and safe.

But surely, Henry thought, a person could expect more than Maslow’s base level of needs?

That was all life seemed to teach him. If you’re able to stay alive and keep moving forward, be thankful and keep your mouth shut. Be good, be quiet. And Henry was good. He performed well in school. And he was quiet. He silently bore the bullies, the snickers, the shunning. It paid off in military school where his silence was applauded as patience and he was promoted to officer at a young age and expected to delegate arguments. The nub of anger in him, an anger that appeared on the night his parents died, screamed at his fragile backbone. Its voice molded with the voice of his superior officers, commanding for attention among other orders. With so many years being called private Bolet, corporal Bolet, sergeant Bolet, and officer Bolet, Henry almost forgot his name. It wasn’t until he met Summer at a random bar that he remembered.

She sat by him while his fellow soldiers mingled with the other soldiers. It was their scheduled night out and the soldiers wanted to go to the bar. Outnumbered, Henry had no choice but to agree. To disagree would lead to a lack to trust and camaraderie, especially with him. So he sat somewhere dark and quiet in the bar, hoping no one saw him till it was time to leave. But like her name, Summer’s warmth crept into his corner.

“Hey there,” she cooed. “What’s your name?”

“Bolet” came the automatic reply.

“Oooh a cold one are you? Don’t worry. I don’t bite”. She nudged him a little and Henry could smell the alcohol oozing off of her.

“Henry,” he muttered after a long pause.

“Hen-ry”. She played with his name, brought it to life. “I’m Summer”.

Henry nodded, waiting for her to continue.

“Why don’t you join the other men? They seem to be having fun?”

“On duty”.

Summer’s eyebrows perked as she took in Henry’s response.

“So you’re not drinking?”

“It’s not my thing”.

“Ooh, a cleanwhistle,” she edged closer towards him. “A proper soldier”.

Henry said nothing. He could feel Summer’s gaze on him and didn’t know what to do.

“Come join us,” she spoke suddenly and got up, pulling him with her towards a group of people. They quietened when he and Summer approached and she introduced him as the “officer in charge”. It got a few chuckles, but Summer’s face showed pride. Henry didn’t say much, didn’t have to. Summer talked for the both of them, and the other members of the group seemed to have no problem with his trepid responses. Excitement, a rare emotion, flowed through him as he listened to the conversations that flowed through the drinks. It didn’t help that twice Summer gave him a peck on the check. She ordered more drinks. Henry paid for the first one, but then cut her off in concern. A chorus of coos went around the drunk group as Summer proudly declared him as “a good soldier”.

“My good soldier,” she whispered to him and Henry let himself fall.

  It was Summer who persuaded him to leave the military.

“What will I do then,” Henry asked.

“Don’t worry,” she placed a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll tell you”.

She suggested taking up a degree in accounting. It would be a 180 from the military, but the analytical side would be familiar. Henry considered letting his uncle know of the changes he was making to his life, maybe even introduce Summer to him. But Bruno never responded to the letters and emails Henry sent, nor did he pick up the phone. After a while, Henry just stopped calling. And anyway, there was no need to be concerned. Summer’s decisions were always right. She didn’t attend college, but she worked in the local café. Since she couldn’t accompany him, she suggested he stay and work in the café. After all, most freshman were too busy enjoying their youth to offer any real friendship, and since he was older than the others, it would just be too awkward for him. So he spent his free time in the café. He allowed her to crash in his apartment and picked up her slack.

Summer would often complain about her coworkers, her parents, Henry, even herself. The more time Henry spent with her, the more he saw how tired she was. She was often too tired to help out and frequently disappeared for days at a time. Henry was most worried about those days because she never bothered to let him know when she was going or for how long. Whenever he tried to bring it up, she would snap at him, exclaiming her need to discharge from the world. He tried to explain it to her, how his parent’s sudden death made him a little paranoid.

Summer listened to him. She then held his hands and said, “I’m sorry, but I’m not your parents. Get over it”.

So Henry got over it.

Now, two weeks from graduating, he stood in front of the Bolet manor struggling to get over his uncle’s sudden death. Summer had scoffed when Henry informed her of his uncle’s death. She didn’t understand the point of attending the funeral of some estranged relative who barely cared about Henry.

“He took care of me Summer”.

“So?” she exclaimed.

But when she saw that, for once, Henry would not be persuaded, she rolled her eyes and let him go with an aggravated sigh. A permission he thanked with a shopping spree.

“Just come back when you’re done Bolet,” Summer said as she left for her parent’s house.

  It was at the funeral he learned that Bruno had made him executor of his will and also dedicated thirty percent of the estate to him. It was no measly figure. Bruno Bolet’s house was of average size, but his estate encompassed the cemetery plot that belonged to the Bolet family. Even the ten percent that Bruno’s housekeeper was to get landed her a pretty sizable fortune. It was the housekeeper, Renee Amande, who welcomed Henry to the Bolet manor and showed him to his room. The house was very clean, which was all Henry could think of saying as she led him to his room.

“Of course it is. I keep very high standards,” She turned and looked straight at him. “Though Mr. Bolet was an eccentric and disorganized man, I always ensured he lived in a clean home and ate regularly. You don’t get to 98 single and alone”.

“He seemed quite content to live alone, from what I know of him,” Henry said. He couldn’t help snapping back. The anger he held had started to ebb out during the funeral and Henry had no outlet for it.

Renee stared at him. Her eyes roved around his figure, taking in this so called nephew of Bruno Bolet. She didn’t trust him. He certainly played the role of a Bolet very well with his eyeliner, painted nails, and what looked like a fishnet glove on his right arm. But what nephew never met or even called his uncle? Renee entered into Bruno’s life when he was in his sixties and he spoke very little of his family. Oh Bruno prided himself in the Bolet family’s eccentric personality and their history with New Orleans’s ghosts, but he always held Renee and most others an arm’s length away. But New Orleans was linked to the Bolet name.  

The Bolets started out as gravediggers and worked their way up to undertakers. Everyone, both living and dead, knew that if you wanted to be taken care of in death and the afterlife, you came to the Bolets. The family owned the largest cemetery in New Orleans and everyone took advantage of that. Taxi drivers who picked up the occasional ghost rider would drop them off at the cemetery. They would usually find a dollar for their trouble, though it never covered the fare. It was an unacknowledged law that the construction of any infrastructure had to have the approval of the Bolet family. Progressive or not, no one wanted to anger the ghosts of New Orleans.

Yet here stood the heir of the largest cemetery. The next Bolet set to inherit the role of his name. Renee knew from Bruno that the Bolets erred on the side of melancholic, but Henry’s aura radiated cynicism. That boy is trouble for you Renee.

He didn’t object to her desire to stay until the will had been properly sorted. He didn’t object to staying in Bruno’s old room, now stripped of life. He didn’t even object to her carrying on as a housekeeper. But something was off with the boy. At first she though it was grief. But the lack of connection between nephew and uncle made her assume greed. The boy kept staring at his phone with a dark frown on his face. At breakfast, he only nibbled on the blueberry cornmeal pancakes. When she showed him Bruno’s study, Henry just grumbled and set to work. Renee always took pride in Bruno’s workplace. It was a perfect blend of Bruno’s eccentricities and the Bolet’s prestige. But seeing Henry sort through the numerous papers that decorated the dark oak desk, Renee couldn’t help but feel disgust.

He doesn’t deserve any of it.

  Summer had been endlessly calling Henry since he landed in New Orleans. Frustrated and stressed, he put the damn cell on silent. But the missed calls piled up until finally, his phone died on him.

Thank god, he thought, then immediately felt guilty. Summer was just concerned about him. He didn’t even notify her that he landed and attended the funeral. He slept fitfully in a bare room and had no appetite for the breakfast Renee kindly made for him. He didn’t even get the chance to thank her for the pancakes when the landline rang and Henry was pulled into conversation after conversation. Everyone swooped in like vultures, desperate for a piece of the Bolet wealth. From last payments for furniture to unfulfilled I.O.U.s. Bruno Bolet had a lot of money and a lot of places he threw his money. Thankfully, it didn’t look like his uncle was in debt, but the mess he made of his finances made Henry nauseous. How could anyone be so careless on the things that mattered?

The first thing Henry did was grab a trashcan and clear out what seemed irrelevant. Advertisements. Confirmations and thank you for attending parties. Some random info on skulls. And an envelope from a research institute. Rubbish. As both executor and inheritor, Henry was caught in making sure Bruno’s will be carried out, but also in ensuring that no one swooped in and took something without permission. He also had to deal with Bruno’s remains.

After the cremation, Bruno wanted Henry to bury him in the Bolet garden. Where exactly, the old coot never specified. After roaming around a bit, Henry saw a red-eyed vulture sitting atop a shrine. Below it, there were four other red-eyed vultures. Suddenly a gust of noises crowded his mind. They whispered words, some of which Henry barely heard. Am I losing it? He should have been terrified, but whether it was a lack of sleep or the start of insanity, Henry found himself at ease with the whispers. They surrounded his presence and grew louder as he approached the vultures. Here…Here…Here, they urged and as Henry looked around the shrine, he saw a pot hole with the name Bruno Bolet on it. But how to open it?

The pot hole was shut and no matter how hard Henry tried to lever the lid up, it remained fastened to the ground. Taking a closer look at the pot hole, Henry noticed a lock design. So, it needs a key? But where was he supposed to find a key in Bruno’s mess? He sighed and gave up. He’d just figure out some other place to bury his uncle. The whispers cried out as he left, but fell silent when he approached the double doors of the study.

 That night, the whispers came into his room. They swarmed around him, chattering. Tittering whenever he sprung up from the bed.

“Go away,” he shouted.

They shivered.

“What do you want?”

Skull… man… skull… find… man… arrives

Henry flopped back onto the bed. He didn’t have time to chase after the adventures of some Skullman. Maybe he really was losing it. Maybe his uncle’s death was affecting him more than he anticipated. He wasn’t unnerved by their presence. They felt like meeting an old friend, not that Henry knew what that felt like. The only person he had was Summer. Speaking of which, Henry reached for his phone and saw that Summer had called again, numerous times. He sighed, then called and prepared for the onslaught.

“Hen-ry!” Summer’s high-pitched voice spoke through the silence of his room. Immediately, the whispers become silent and Henry could feel their presence leave the room.

“Hey Summer. Sorry about not calling you before. It’s been hectic.”

“God, Henry you’re such a jerk. You couldn’t even call me one time to check-in on me? Don’t you care about me?”

“Course, I do. How are you doing Summer?”

“I’m bored. My parents are working and I have nothing to do”.

“Didn’t you mention that you made plans to go to the beach with some friends? That’s why we bought those swimwear outfits”.

“Yaaa, but what can I do if my friend suddenly decided to bring along her boyfriend? Do you know how lame I look saying I have a boyfriend but not bringing him along? See how inconsiderate your uncle’s death is?”

“Sorry about that Summer,” Henry replied weakly. He never really figured out what to say to Summer when she got angry.

“You have to make it up for me,” Summer demanded. She sounded serious and Henry knew that a stubborn Summer was an uncooperative one. Still, he tried.

“Aw, come on Summer”.

“No buts, Bolet!”

“Alright, alright,” Henry said, trying to pacify her.

“How about I get you some CDs? That way you can listen to them until I finish around here?”

Summer was silent for a while and Henry held his breath.

“How long will you be gone for?” she asked.

“I’ll get you enough CDs for two weeks. How’s that? That way, if I finish early, you get extra CDs for another time?”

“You’re really pushing it Bolet”.

“I know. I’m sorry”.

“Just hurry up!”

Saying so, Summer hung up on him and Henry dropped the phone to the ground.

  There was a local antique store in the old French quarters. The owner, Lamont Warrick, didn’t hesitate to introduce himself to Henry at the funeral and procure a business card.

“For anything you deem useless, just toss it over to me”.

Henry didn’t have much on him. It didn’t help that Renee seemed to always keep an eye on him. Between the whispers and her unexpected presence, Henry didn’t know which was worse. Honestly, he was so close to snapping at her to just get it over with if her intent was to kill him. Her badgering presence was something he didn’t want to deal with. He didn’t know from where he was supposed to get the money to by the CDs Summer wanted. He only had a debit card on him and the stores only took credit. He cursed himself for never applying for a credit card. He never really needed it seeing as uncle Bruno and school took care of everything. It wasn’t until he left with Summer that he had to really take care of himself.

He didn’t need much, just enough to get the CDs and pay for shipping to Illinois. He knew it was wrong, illegal even. He could be forfeit from his inheritance. He would be a hypocrite for sure. But if he didn’t do this, Summer would be mad at him, and if Summer was mad at him—he didn’t want to continue that thought. So he grabbed a box and quickly chucked some clutter from Bruno’s room. The faster he did it, the less he would have to think about what he was doing. Giving Renee a quick excuse, Henry shuffled out of the manor and headed towards Zeke’s curiosity shop.

Lamont gave Henry a friendly hello and perked his eyebrows when he saw the box. Lamont felt bad when he saw Henry Bolet for the first time. He knew Bruno Bolet well. The man spent a lot of time at his curio shop, and frequently bought items. His housekeeper, Renee also frequented the place. But Bruno was the one who truly admired Lamont’s collection. In Bruno, Lamont found an appreciator of junk. The discarded bits people didn’t want, or had no place for, all found home in his curio shop. Bruno often invited Lamont over to see the Bolet manor, so Lamont knew that the house was a trove for antiques.

Lamont once asked Bruno who would get the house and the artifacts upon his death. He supposed some people would take the question as insensitive, greedy even, but Bruno understood what he was really asking.

“A relative of mine would inherit the majority”.

Seeing as Bruno was already hitting his 80s, Lamont assumed the relative was older. But when he saw the relative, this Henry Bolet, as a young man, all sympathy burst forth. This Henry was younger than him. Lamont had heard that Henry’s parent’s died when he was only eight. Bolet news spread like wildfire in New Orleans. Bruno would have been his only other relative. To have him die too. Lamont knew it was wrong. The young man didn’t seem to want company, but business was business. If he didn’t want comfort, maybe this Henry would understand business.

“Didn’t take you long to stop over,” Lamont said as he eyed the box. “Didn’t bring much either”.

“This is just a small sample. I’ll bring the rest later”.

Lamont was confused. People didn’t decide to sell a small portion of their junk and save the rest for later. It was usually a full overhaul, especially when death was the cause. Most just wanted to shove off the remains of the dead, as if they were scared of the memories the junk contained. Henry himself looked distressed, as if he was in a hurry.

Lamont perused through the box. Some old photographs. A locked box, and what seemed to be a top hat and skull costume. He’d often see Bruno wearing the top hat. It would sell. The box would also sell. But the rest would be hard to pitch to customers. No one really wanted the photographs of an unknown person, or their letters. Lamont sighed.

“Your uncle died 2 days ago, right?”

“Yes, and?”

“Well, let’s just say that in my experience, people don’t bring in things to sell 2 days after someone dies. Also, they don’t bring a small box”.

Henry became very quiet and Lamont continued.

“Hey man, I’m not judging you, but I’m assuming that you need cash fast”.

Henry gave a stiff nod.

Lamont sighed again. It was common in his business for people to quickly sell off something they assumed was junk when strapped for cash. He never bought anything from them. If they got caught, he could also get into trouble and Lamont had a family to worry about. But this kid, he looked so, so naïve. He clearly had no idea what he was doing.

“Look, I can’t buy this”.

Henry’s face fell.

“But,” Lamont continued. “Here’s what I will do. How much do you need? Hundred bucks?”

“Two hundred,” Henry muttered, then scowled. He couldn’t Lamont in the eyes.

That’s nothing, Lamont thought. But the kid looked so worried about it.

“Okay, so let’s say this. I give you the two hundred. I’ll even take this box and make a receipt for you if it will make you feel better. But, in exchange. When you actually go through your uncle’s possessions, you invite me over and let me have first pick over the artifacts. I take two hundred dollars’ worth with me. Deal?”

Henry nodded and Lamont rang up a bill.

  A couple days later, after dealing with an endless amount of callers, Henry pushed it all away. Slowly Bruno’s estate and finances were sorting themselves out, but Henry needed a break. Feeling perky, he offered to treat Renee out for dinner.

“About time I saw some Southern hospitality in you, young man”.

Their plan of enjoying the May breeze in the French quarters at a local café was ruined by the onslaught of rain. Henry apologized to Renee, but it was clear that the woman blamed Henry for the rain. They ate in silence and returned back to the manor to see the front door open.

“Did we have a break-in?” Henry exclaimed.

“Oh dear. This is highly unusual to happen in New Orleans. Normally it’s so safe, we needn’t lock doors,” Renee wondered.

Henry turned towards her.

“You didn’t lock the door?!”

“No dear. Like I said, it isn’t necessary”.

Henry pointed to the door.

“Yes, I can see how unnecessary it was”.

Renee eyes flashed.

“No need to take that tone with me, young man. I am not speaking nonsense”.

Henry resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Why was he bothering to argue with someone who made huff-puff hoodoo powder in her free time? It didn’t help that the whispers came back to him. They followed him to that curio store, screamed more like it, as he ‘sold’ the junk. They were screaming now.

Skull… man… skull… man… fall…

Henry massaged his forehead.

“Let’s just infiltrate and assess damage”.

As both he and Renee stepped into the house, Henry caught the sight of footprints. One wet and small. The other muddy and large. The muddy one indicated that it’s owner had long left the house, but what caused him concern was that the smaller foot prints only went in one direction.

“Be careful Renee. I think our thief is still inside the house,” Henry whispered.

“Understood,” Rene whispered back, eyes watching the floor and mirroring Henry’s thoughts.

They stepped cautiously into the foyer and Renee reached for an umbrella. Smart, Henry thought. The thief might be armed. It would be best for Renee to arm herself. Henry clenched his hands into fists and tensed, ready to throw a punch.

When they stepped into the living room, Renee let out a gasp and dropped her umbrella. In front of them was the award-wining cemetery model Bruno made a long time back. Below the table, and splayed out, unconscious, at the centre of the living room was a young woman.

[quicksilversquared]

There’s No Camembert in Tibet Outtakes: Chapter 7

Adrien: Future

Adrien loved having his mom back.

It wasn't all smooth and easy, not by a long shot. She had a lot to deal with in order to get reintegrated into the life that she had been pulled from. She wanted to spend time with him, of course, since she had been missing for a year, and she wanted to get to know all of his friends and other classmates, but she couldn't just do the fun stuff. She had to talk to police and tell them what had happened when she went missing, and catch up with what was going on with the company, and then deal with the reporters that kept clamoring to know what had happened.

And then, of course, there was the whole need to deal with his father. She hadn't told him what had gone down during her visit to the prison, but she hadn't seemed very happy afterwards.

But his mom was getting along with his friends really well, and she seemed to adore Marinette already. Adrien had definitely heard the two of them discussing how they might renovate the front hall area to make it not so intimidating, and she seemed to really listen to what Marinette had to say.

...Adrien was a little concerned that he and Marinette wouldn't get any time to properly relax together, between them simply spending time with his mom, meeting up with their other friends that they hadn't seen for the first half of the summer, and doing all of the shopping for the impending redecoration. His schedule had already started up again with fencing and basketball and piano and photoshoots, keeping him busy for several hours each day almost five days each week. His mom had agreed to not resuming his Mandarin classes as long as he spent some time chatting with Mrs. Cheng every week, so he didn't have that, but still.

At least she had agreed to let him continue going to public school. Otherwise, Adrien probably would have had tutors starting to come in on top of everything else, and his summer would be done for.

(To be fair, she hadn't even argued that one. It was just automatically a given that Adrien would be returning to school, it seemed.)

"Sitting around doing nothing isn't all it's cracked up to be," Marinette assured him one day as he was practicing piano and she was listening, perched on the bench next to him. "It gets boring. I know Nino was talking it up, but he probably lasted for all of one full day before needing to do literally anything else at all."

"He's not gotten his full day of relaxation, either. He texted me grumbling about it." In fact, out of all of them, only Chloe hadmanaged to sit back and fully relax. Alya had had to babysit her sisters, Nino had been put in charge of his little brother Chris, Master Fu had re-opened his business, Mrs. Cheng had been working in the bakery again filling in for a worker that had come down ill right after her return, Adrien had had his activities, and Marinette alternated between designing, helping in the bakery with especially large orders, and helping his mom with redesign and renovation plans. "Maybe once we're back in school we'll get a Saturday free or something."

"And we've had half days here and there to hang out," Marinette pointed out. "Even if there were some very noisy kids around."

Adrien winced at the memory of Chris, Ella, and Etta running around screaming at the pool on top of the Grand Paris on their last afternoon out. If it hadn't been for their connections to Chloe, Mr. Bourgeois probably would have tossed them out right away.

(If Chloe had actually been there and not on a shopping spree, she would have probably kicked them out herself, friends or no. They had gotten the kids to calm down after a bit, but they were still a bit splashy.)

"Maybe we can go on a date this week and have an afternoon and evening to ourselves," Adrien suggested, finishing up the song with a practiced flourish and sitting back. "Not to do anything fancy, but maybe pizza and a movie? Or go to the arcade and trounce everyone's high scores."

Marinette beamed at him. "Oh, I'd like that," she agreed. "We can maybe start with one and move to the other after dinner, depending on when shows are playing and how late the arcade is open. Will your mom let us be out that long?"

"She's being strangely lenient about me being out and about." It was surprising, really. Adrien had prepared himself to be coddled to the point of nearly being smothered, but instead he had nearly as much freedom as he had had with Nathalie and the Gorilla watching him. Nathalie had warned that it probably wouldn't last forever- his mom probably felt guilty about leaving him on his own and about all that he had had to go through while she was gone, and was still trying to figure out where to set new boundaries now that he had gotten used to more freedom.

Adrien was going to enjoy his freedom while he still had it. Once his mom set new limits, there was a possibility that some of the stuff that he had taken for granted over the past couple of months would be off-limits until he turned 18- or until after he had graduated university and moved out.

The sleepovers were already out-of-bounds, they didn't even need to ask to know that much- and Adrien didn't want hangouts in the park to be next, just because some fangirls (and fanguys) didn't understand the concept of leaving him alone and his mom was worried about them harassing him.

"Right, so let me check my calendar." Adrien pulled out his phone, hoping that his mom wasn't going to come investigate if she didn't hear piano music for a while. He knew that he was meant to be practicing, and he did have a lot of ground to make up after not playing much after his father's arrest and not practicing at all for the first part of the summer, but his girlfriend was right there. After being together all the time on the trail, their separation back in Paris was jarring. So sue him if he maybe wanted to set practice aside for a little bit to figure out when they could have another proper date before their evenings filled up with homework and projects again. "Ooh, it looks like most of my photoshoots have passed! I only have one this week."

"More fall stuff?"

Adrien winced at the reminder that he would have to get dressed up in clothes that were far toowarm for the hot Paris weather. "Ugh. Yeah. Promise you'll come rescue me?"

"I can bring iced lemonade again. Does that work?"

"That sounds purr-fect, my Lady."

  "Oh, we're getting dirt all over the floor!"

Adrien grinned at his mom's distressed exclamation. "Mom, we have a broom. And a top-of-the-line vacuum."

"And mops," Marinette added, trying to push her hair out of her face without actually touching it with her dirt-covered hands. She wasn't entirely successful. "It'll all come up! We knew it would get messy! That's why we didn't put the rugs down yet."

"Oh, but still." Mrs. Agreste scanned the footprint-covered floor. "I know we wanted the entry hall to look lived in, but this is going a little too far."

Adrien caught sight of Nathalie peeking out of the office at the mess and wincing before vanishing back into the room. He grinned at that. Nathalie wasn't used to seeing the mansion in anything but perfect shape, and right now, in the middle of their redecorating, the front entry hall was anything but perfect. The couches, chairs, tables, and rugs that Marinette and his mom had found for the space on one of their little outings were shoved together and piled up in one corner, waiting to be arranged. Another corner was filled with their new curtains, the light, airy fabric draped over the banister of the stairs and trailing across the floor in anticipation of being hung later on.

And in the middle of the space, almost every centimeter of floor was covered by planters, pots of plants, and bags of dirt. Marinette had come up with the idea to replace the old planters, formerly filled with dark red plants, and replace them with a number of new ones, light and fun instead of dark and businesslike, and then fill them with a more playful arrangement of plants. Ferns and bamboos and palms and orchids and all sorts of plants Adrien didn't recognize were scattered around them, waiting to be planted and arranged around the room, making his mom and Marinette's vision for the space a reality.

Of course, before they could get planted, they needed to actually fill the planters up with dirt. That...was taking a while.

Mostly because Marinette was the only one out of the three of them to really be willing to get elbow-deep in dirt and fertilizer. Adrien was doing his best, he really was, but he wasn't used to the feeling of dirt under his fingernails, and his mom was fussing over the dirt that was getting on her clothes and on the floor. Apparently she was willing to put up with a little dirt while camping, but not at home in Paris.

Adrien could relate, honestly. He felt the same way.

Things got sped up when the Gorilla came in, saw Marinette wrestling with a heavy bag of dirt just as big as she was, and heaved a sigh before helping them get all of the containers filled properly in no time at all.

"Okay, arrangement time!" Adrien's mom said cheerfully once the empty bags were cleared away. "Marinette, dear, what were you planning on doing?"

As Marinette and his mom planned which plants would go where, Adrien became the muscle, rushing around to get the plants they pointed out and placing them in front of their designated planters. There was a bit of back-and-forth before they settled on their arrangements, making notes to go back and out and buy a couple more of certain types of the plants, and then it was time to actually remove all of the plants from their flimsy plastic pots and get them in the planters.

By that time, the Gorilla had managed to return with a couple hand trowels and gardening gloves. Adrien pulled his on eagerly, grinning at the cat pattern that ran across the back of the gloves. His mom cooed over her own ladybug-spotted gloved before diving into the work with renewed vigor.

"This place is going to look so nice once we're finished," Mrs. Agreste said eagerly as they started arranging things in the first of their planters. Now that they were past the step of wrestling with heavy bags of dirt, her cheerful mood had returned. "Just switching out the painting already has changed the mood of the room!"

Adrien nodded, glancing up the main stairs. Up on the landing, overseeing the entire room, the dark portrait of Adrien and Mr. Agreste had been replaced as soon as possible with a colorful painting of flowers and butterflies. His mom hadn't been sure about having butterflies in the picture at first, but Adrien and Marinette had eventually convinced her that not all butterflies were bad, so there was no reason why she should avoid them.

Besides, there were no purple butterflies in the painting.

"And then the electrician is going to come in this afternoon and switch out those ugly light fixtures," Mrs. Agreste continued, absentmindedly stroking the fronds of a fern. "And then- what else will we have to do, Marinette? There's so much."

"All of the rugs and couches and everything will get put out," Marinette reminded her, patting the dirt down firmly around a plant with trailing vines. "And the curtains will go up. It's not that much, really, it's just bulky."

"Can you really call them curtains if they don't really block any light?" Adrien mused, handing Marinette a plant with silvery leaves. "They have about as much substance to them as a wisp of a cloud. Not that I don't like them, of course, I trust your vision, but..."

Marinette giggled. "They're just for show. Fabric makes softer lines."

"We're all going to get a good night's sleep tonight, that's for sure," Mrs. Agreste announced. "And- oh, this plant won't come out!"

It took them nearly three hours just to get the planters all finished, though a couple had small notes on them with what needed to be added in the future. The three of them headed in for lunch with growling stomachs and dirty hands, and it was only Nathalie catching them at the door that made them remember that they had to wash up first.

As they ate, Adrien couldn't stop smiling. It never failed to make him amazingly, stupendously happy when he saw how well his mom and Marinette got along. He had worried about it at first, of course- if his mom would feel like Marinette was taking up too much of Adrien's time, or if she might not like Marinette simply because she felt that he was too young for dating, or- well, anything, really. He had read so many stories and seen so many shows where the main character had to deal with a disapproving family, and Adrien had been so, so worried that he might have to deal with something similar.

Thankfully his mom didn't seem to have any problems with him dating- she was quite supportive of it, it seemed- and she adored Marinette. The two of them had hit it off right away.

She would love Mr. Dupain and Mrs. Cheng once she got to spend more time with them, of that Adrien was sure. They had only had time for a few short meetings so far, since both families were understandably busy, and, well, so far, so good.

Lunch went by too fast, and then they were back out in the front room, moving the planters into place. Thankfully they all had tiny wheels on the bottoms, making it easy- well, easier, the planters were still heavy- to get things into place. The white planters and colorful plants filling them hid a lot of the dark marble and filled in a bit of the empty space around the room, already making it feel a lot nicer.

"We were thinking of doing a hanging herb garden over that bit of marble so that the cook could use fresh herbs without having to get them from the store, but the hanger hasn't arrived yet," Marinette told Adrien as they maneuvered the last of the planters into place. "And there'll be air plants around the room, too, but we're still trying to figure out where."

"It'll be easier to tell once we have everything else in place," Mrs. Agreste told them. "There's no point in overdecorating and making the place feel cluttered."

Their maid appeared out of thin air to help them clean up all of the dirt on the floor, sweeping and vacuuming and then supervising Adrien and Marinette as they mopped up the last bits of dirt. She made sure that the floor was dry enough for them to not slip and fall before vanishing again, taking the cleaning supplies with her.

"Rugs next?" Mrs. Agreste asked. "Maybe the large one first?"

Wrestling the large entry run into place was a hard, sweaty task, but it was so worth it once it was settled. It covered the large black-and-white motif on the floor and made everything not feel so empty. There were a couple more smaller rugs, ones that would go under the tables and chairs, and one fun little mat that Marinette had made for their shoes.

That one got tucked behind the planters at the entrance, mostly hidden from view but still fun.

The rest of the day went by in a rush of sweat and sore muscles. The electrician came, switching the light fixtures in the entry area from straightforward and functional to more artsy and brighter, switching the light's tone from cold to warm. The Gorilla helped them hang the light, airy curtains, softening the windows. A few smaller paintings went up around the room, adding color to the space without tearing anything out.

Adrien's personal favorite, though, was the several comfy benches and chairs posted around the space, some obvious and others tucked away behind the planters. Near them, a couple tables had been arranged and decorated with warm lamps. Per Marinette's idea, baskets with blankets in them had been tucked under the tables, in case anyone wanted to curl up in a corner with a cup of tea and a book.

His mom had forbidden the two of them from using the hidden chairs to make out. Whether or not she was being entirely serious, Adrien wasn't sure.

"Well, I think we did a good job," Mrs. Agreste said once the last of the tables was in place. She pushed her hair off of her face. "I don't know about you, but I need a shower now. We have showers in the guest rooms," she added, looking at Marinette. "And Adrien has plenty of extra soap, or you can use some of mine if you want. Then maybe we can have some ice cream and plan what room to attack next?"

"Are you trying to steal my girlfriend away again, Mom?" Adrien joked. "Maybe I wanted to spend some time with her."

His mom giggled. "How about we keep the planning under an hour, and then I can give you money for the two of you to go out for dinner?"

Adrien pretended to think it over. "Hmm. I suppose."

"That sounds lovely," Marinette told Mrs. Agreste. She playfully poked Adrien in the side. "Adrien can share for a bit longer."

Adrien could only laugh.

  Adrien had messed up.

He hadn't meant to freak his mom out, he really hadn't. But he had spoken without thinking, talking about his relationship with Marinette as though he were in front of Tom and Sabine instead of his own mom, who didn't know the whole picture. Who didn't know that he and Marinette had been close as Ladybug and Chat Noir before finding out each other's civilian identities. Who thought that Adrien and Marinette had only been friends for a couple months before they started dating, because that was what Nathalie had told her and several of their classmates had apparently said the same thing.

So yeah, in hindsight he could see where his mom would maybe not take him casually mentioning that he fully planned on marrying Marinette in the future well. But hindsight wasn't going to help him now.

Nathalie had warned him that his mom would likely get strict again, setting boundaries that he didn't much like because he was used to getting free rein. Adrien just hadn't expected the change to be so sudden, rules materializing overnight even though there hadn't been any issues before.

His door couldn't be closed if Marinette was over, and they were meant to do homework together in the dining room instead of his room. He had to let his mom know if he was going over to Marinette's house and for how long and if they would be supervised. She had to know when Marinette came over to visit him. Dates had to end right after dinner, and wouldn't it be fun if they did group dates instead of individual ones? When Marinette did come over, it seemed like his mom always just happened to get off work early to come home and watch them together.

In short, he was being heavily oversupervised.

His mom had apparently talked to Marinette's parents at one point, right after his accidental slip-up, but they had only had a few minutes to chat since the bakery was so busy. It seemed that their chat had only made his mom more anxious, though, since Mr. Dupain and Mrs. Cheng hadn't seemed that surprised about Adrien's declaration and clearly had a bit more relaxed parenting style.

His mom didn't really like it when he went over to Marinette's house for exactly that reason, actually. She didn't think that they would be adequately supervised.

"My parents have Sundays off," Marinette told him as they ate lunch together on the school steps after two weeks of Mrs. Agreste's hovering. "Maybe she can sit down and have a proper conversation with them then? Because I don't think they gave off a very good impression that one time when they were super busy and your mom came over in a panic. I can ask them to invite her over this weekend, and then maybe you can have some of your freedom back."

"We can stop having her hovering over our shoulders, you mean?" Adrien dropped his chin onto the top of Marinette's head, giving in to the urge to cuddle despite the still-warm early fall weather. "Yeah, I liked it better when we could just hang out and she was encouraging us to go on dates instead of making sure that there was someone around all the time so that we don't rush anything."

Marinette nodded. "Yeah. And maybe no more comments about getting married," she added, giving Adrien a Look. "Or else she'll still be following us around and making sure that we're behaving when we're in university. We won't get to do anything except cheek kisses ever again."

"I probably shouldn't tell her that you've already come up with names for our kids, then?"

"Adrien!"

  Adrien and Marinette didn't get to sit in on the Sunday morning meeting between their parents. Instead, they were sent off to the park with a picnic basket of pastries and fruit.

It would have been easier to enjoy their breakfast if they weren't worried about what was happening in the Dupain-Cheng kitchen. Adrien was mostly worried about the Dupain-Chengs accidentally saying something that would make his mom really not trust them and not want him around Marinette any more.

If they let on that Adrien had slept over before, that would be it. He probably wouldn't be able to date again until he turned 18- or worse, until he was through with University.

"I wish she would trust us more," Adrien said quietly as they sat back against the trunk of a large tree- or, rather, as Marinette sat against the tree and Adrien reclined with his head on her lap. "Like, I can see where what I said might have freaked her out, and then Nathalie told me that it wasn't helping that your family was my main support network when I found out about Father."

Marinette frowned. "Wait, why?"

"Because I wouldn't want to break up with you and lose them, too." Adrien squeezed Marinette's hand. "But I know that your parents wouldn't just stop talking to me if we broke up, as long as it wasn't messy. That's just not their style."

"They adore you." Marinette rested against Adrien's side. "Hopefully they'll tell her that and she'll believe them. They'll probably still be more lenient with us than your mom will after their meeting no matter what, but she doesn't know about the kwamis. And the kwamis are why they're fine with us being in my room by ourselves."

"I don't mind keeping my door open. I understand that, and Nino and Alya both said that their parents enforce that as well. It's the constant supervision when we're just hanging out." Adrien groaned and stretched. "Constant parental supervision, that is. Tikki and Plagg are different."

"Yeah, because they're off doing their own thing half of the time." Marinette ran a hand through Adrien's hair, drawing a purr out of him. "I can understand where your mom is coming from, really, it's just..."

"She overreacted?"

"Yeah."

It was a full two hours before Marinette's phone dinged with a text to let them know that they could come back up. It didn't say how the parent meeting had gone, so both teens were a bit anxious as they headed back across the park towards the bakery.

They found three smiling parents at the door.

"See, I told you they wouldn't be long," Tom said with a laugh, reaching out to usher them in. "Don't look so worried, you two. We had a good chat."

"We cleared up a couple misunderstandings," Mrs. Agreste chimed in. "And came up with a revised list of rules."

Adrien and Marinette turned their expectant, hopeful looks on her.

"I'll stop hovering," she told them. "Though I still expect the bedroom door to be open when you both are in there."

Adrien and Marinette nodded in unison. They had expected that. It was fairly standard.

"And I still want you to text when you're going anywhere other than home or your regular activities," Mrs. Agreste continued. "Just to know where you are, in case you lose track of time or something comes up. That's just a safety thing."

Adrien nodded. "Yeah! That sounds reasonable."

"And we can discuss curfew times after dates later on," Mrs. Agreste told them. "We want to be reasonable, of course, but you're both young. It's not smart to stay out super late, we all agreed on that."

"In the past, we've always aimed to get home by nine," Marinette told her. "Unless there was a movie or concert that we wanted to go to that ran later, and then we discussed it with Nathalie and my parents beforehand."

Mrs. Agreste perked up. "Oh, that is very reasonable."

"And we made sure not to do late movies on nights when either of us had something we needed to be up for early the next morning," Adrien added. "And it's a once-a-week thing. We're not going to go overboard with it."

"I know." His mom reached out, pulling him into a hug. "You two are smart. I just- it's a lot to take in and adjust to."

Adrien nodded. He knew that. He could see the strain that everything was taking on her- from getting back into her job to getting to know his new friends to dealing with the whole deal with his father (the divorce, the new charges against his father's continued planning to get the Miraculous, all of the reporters wanting to get an inside scoop). Even if he didn't like it, it made sense that she might try to control what she could.

He was just immensely grateful that Mr. Dupain and Mrs. Cheng could get through to her and talk her out of going too far with her overprotective parenting.

"It's a learning process as the kids grow up," Mrs. Cheng said fondly, patting Marinette's shoulder. "You want them to stay young forever, but they don't. All you can do is make sure that they have the support and the knowledge that they need to grow and fly."

"It's the letting go part of that I'm having trouble with," Mrs. Agreste said wistfully, though there was no disagreement in either her voice or her face. "I liked the ten-year-old stage. They're still cute but can take care of themselves, but there's no dating to worry about."

Adrien gasped, playing up the wounded look. "You don't think that I'm cute, mom? I'm hurt! Marinette, you still think that I'm cute, right?"

That broke any lingering tension and they all laughed. Mrs. Agreste shook her head as she giggled, ruffling Adrien's hair.

They stayed for another half an hour, chatting idly about what was going on at school and around Paris, and then Adrien and Mrs. Agreste had to leave to go meet up with an old friend of hers.

"See you at school tomorrow," Adrien told Marinette, dipping in for a quick kiss before pulling back. "I can send you my schedule tonight and we can figure out when we can get together with Max and work on our group project."

"That sounds good." Marinette returned the quick kiss and beamed up at him. "Can I text you later if I have any trouble on the Chem homework?"

"You bet. Even if you don't, we could Skype and work on it together."

Tom laughed. "You haven't already gotten it done? What were you doing for the past couple hours?"

"Breakfast in the park and worrying about what was going on up here." Adrien grinned cheekily. "We're expert worriers."

Sabine rolled her eyes. "You guys have no faith in us, honestly. There was nothing to worry about."

It didn't take long for them to get out the door, and then it was just Adrien and his mom again as they headed back up the street towards home. It was one of the last nice days of the season, so they had opted to walk instead of having the Gorilla pick them up.

"I'm glad that I had a chance to properly sit down with Marinette's parents and talk," Mrs. Agreste commented as they rounded the corner and headed past the park. "They're lovely people, and I would have hated to be at odds over me misunderstanding them before. We had never really talked about boundaries in your relationship before, just about... well, everything else."

Adrien nodded. That was understandable. He knew that his mom had been really concerned about what he had gone through and how he had grown so much over the past year. Figuring out the dynamics of what had initially seemed like a normal teenaged relationship was naturally pretty far down on the list of things to do. "And then I seemed too serious, too soon."

"Right. It didn't help that I was a bit anxious about what the effects of a break-up might be like," Mrs. Agreste added. "I've seen people get married young and then divorced shortly afterwards, and I've been finding out just how much a pain in the rear it is to get a divorce. It's not just a matter of signing a paper and being done with it."

"I'm not going to rush into anything," Adrien assured her. It was true, more or less. They weren't rushing at all, but to an outside view, it might appear that they were. "We didn't when we started dating, because we knew that there was no reason not to wait a month or so for everything to settle down and for me to be properly ready. It wasn't going to be healthy to get into a relationship when I was still coming to terms with- well, with everything."

His mom's smile grew. "Yes, I heard about that! I hadn't known about that before. Given the timeline I had been hearing about, I had assumed that you two had started dating either right before or right after Gabriel was arrested. And Marinette's parents said that they had already talked with you guys about not rushing into marriage?"

"Not rushing into marriage or anything else," Adrien agreed. Yeah, he wasn't going to forget that conversation any time soon. He was pretty sure that he hadn't been able to look Mr. Dupain or Mrs. Cheng in the eye for several days after that, but he couldn't deny that the conversation had been an important one to have, and was pretty informative to boot. "They said that it's important to build a good foundation instead of rushing to hit milestones. There'll be time for that stuff later on."

"They're very wise." Adrien could see the look that his mom was giving him out of the corner of his eye. "You seem to have paid attention to what they told you."

"Of course, they've been happily married for ages!" There was no doubt that Marinette's parents were excellent role models and had a stable, loving marriage. Adrien wanted to have a marriage like that- well, when he grew up and was old enough, that was. If they were willing to share any of their advice, Adrien was going to sit up, listen, and take notes. "They clearly did something right."

"What else have they told you?"

"Besides not to rush?" Adrien thought about it. "Communication! They're big on communication. Letting the other person know when something is wrong and then listening. Not waiting until something becomes a big issue to address it. Making sure that one person isn't putting in all the effort in- well, in the relationship, in a household, whatever- while the other person coasts by." He grinned. "They've been teaching me how to do things like dishes and laundry and cooking and cleaning. And baking, of course."

"You're probably a better cook than I am, then," his mom admitted with a laugh. "I haven't in years, since we have a chef."

"I can teach you! And Marinette can help. She's really good at stopping me before I can make too many mistakes when we cook together-" Adrien caught himself. Mr. Dupain and Mrs. Cheng had suggested that part of his mom's concern might have stemmed from how attached he and Marinette were. They did a lot of stuff together, preferring to attack things that they had to get done as a team. It might be nice to have some things reserved for mother-son bonding only. "I mean, if you want to."

"I'll... think about it."

  Things improved a lot after that. Mrs. Agreste was supportive of Adrien and Marinette's relationship, but not to the point where Adrien was wondering if the pod people had taken her over. She didn't hover, letting them have their privacy as long as they didn't abuse the privilege.

She didn't tease them like Tom and Sabine did- she still wasn't as laid-back about their relationship as Tom and Sabine were- but that was okay. It was understandable. She still had a different parenting style than they did, and she didn't know that they were Ladybug and Chat Noir, the Heroes of Paris.

That was okay, though. Mrs. Agreste was giving them enough freedom to have a comfortable relationship now, and she was talking to Mr. Dupain and Mrs. Cheng on a regular basis. There wasn't any tension between her and Marinette like there had been after Adrien's marriage comment, and questions about their dates had gone back to sounding like a curious mom, rather than tense interrogation.

No doubt there would be shifts in the future, times when she felt like Adrien was growing up too fast and she would overreact about it, and he would have to push back. For now, though, they had found a good balance.

For once, Adrien could have it all- a parent who was there and present, a fantastic, supportive girlfriend, and a whole army of friends. It didn't matter that his father was going to trial again on continued conspiracy to steal the Miraculous and change the timeline to get out of jail, or that there were still reporters who occasionally tried to stop him or his mom on the street to get an interview. They were inconsequential details, really, unable to permeate the bubble of happiness that had surrounded Adrien in one form or another, ever since his mom returned to Paris.

And to think- it was all because Plagg had wanted more cheese.

[maythefanfictionbewithyou]

Proposal

Everybody is full of surprises.

Lana Kane drummed an annoying rhythm onto her armrest. Malory had dragged her out of bed that morning, apparently, Archer had plans with AJ for the day and she had thought it was the perfect excuse for Lana and Malory to have a girls' day out, something Lana never wanted to do with Malory. After enough guilt-tripping, though she’d begrudgingly agreed. Lana barely finished getting ready before Malory dragged her to the airport.

“Is that necessary? There are other people on the plane you know,” Malory asked her.

“Was dragging me out of bed and to an airport necessary?” Lana bit back, mimicking Malory’s voice. “Plus, why are we flying commercial, there must have been a plane we could have borrowed or commandeered or something? I hate commercial.”

“There were no planes for us to commandeer on such short notice, and we need to get to New York tonight. Now shut your mouth and enjoy your flight,” Malory said downing her fifth glass since they’d gotten on the plane, they had barely made them it off the runway. “Why the hell are we going to New York, anyway? With ISIS gone there can’t be anything there for us,” Lana said.

“You’d be surprised, dear.”

After a thousand hours on an airplane, a shopping spree, Lana’s clothes weren’t good enough for Mallory, a trip to the spa, and a visit to a salon for hair and makeup, Lana found herself in front of the old ISIS headquarters. “What are we doing here?” she asked Malory, “I thought we were getting dinner.”

“This was around the corner. I figured it would be nice to see the old stomping ground. The building is even still for lease,” Malory informed her.

“Good to know we can always come home if we want,” Lana said, surprised at the pang of nostalgia hitting her in the gut. She didn’t want to miss this place.

“Do you want to go in?” Malory asked her, pulling a silver key from her coat pocket and waving it in Lana’s directions.

“Seriously?”

“Yes, let’s go,” Malory said making her way towards the front door. Lana followed her, entering the first-floor dry cleaning, another pang of nostalgia hitting her. While she didn’t want to miss this place, this was where she met most of her friends, where she met Archer, and where she was working when AJ was an infant. All the important events in her life happened in that office building.

Malory called the elevator and pressed the button for the main floor. The sight she saw when the doors slide open surprised her. There was a trail of roses leading out of the elevator, the edges lined with candles. “This is your stop dear,” Malory told her, putting pressure on her back to help push her out of the elevator, the door closing behind her.

“What is going on?” Lana asked, taking in her surroundings. The carpet was still a god-awful yellow color, but the rose petals drew the eye away from the awfulness. She followed the trail into the bullpen. All the furniture was gone, the only thing identifying the room was the yellow carpets and the wood paneling on the wall.

In place of the furniture was more roses, littered throughout the room, dozens of candles, and a small picnic blanket with a brown wicker basket in the middle, and in front of the picnic, setup was Archer. He was in one of his best suits, his hair was impeccable, and he had a bouquet of roses in his arms. “Hey,” he said awkwardly, running his free hand through his hair, ruffling it.

“Hey,” Lana repeated, taking a few steps so she could stand in front of him.

“You look... You look great,” Archer told her, looking her up and down appreciating the view.

“You don’t look so bad yourself,” Lana said, feeling her mouth pull into a smile.

“These are for you,” Archer told her, all but shoving the flowers into her arms. She smelled them quickly before turning her attention back to Archer.

“They are beautiful, but what’s going on?” She said motioning to the room.

“Oh yeah this,” Archer said as if he had forgotten everything he was doing. He took back the roses, set them down and took both of her hands in his. “Well, first things first, I wanted to tell you how much I love you,” he said grinning.

Her heart sank a bit at first, was this all an apology date? Had he done something wrong again? But the smile on his face seemed out of place, so she forced herself to push away the thought, “I love you too,” she answered.

“Yeah, yeah I know, let me talk,” He said hurriedly, ignoring the dirty look she was giving him. “Lana, you are my best friend. You have been my best friend for god knows how long. I know I was a shitty boyfriend that first time around, and wasn’t great the second time either, though there were some technicality things going on…”

“Archer,” Lana warned, not wanting to go down that road right then.

“Yeah, yeah, right,” he said resetting himself. “Either way, I hate that it took me being in a coma to get it right, but even before then, being able to be with, and in love with not only my best friend, but the mother of my child, it’s incredible, and while I had said as much to other people; I recently realized I had never said it to you. So now I am, and I don’t want to make the mistake of not telling you what you mean to me again.  I want you, AJ and I to be a proper family. I want to wake up next to you every morning for the rest of my life. I want a dozen more beautiful little-mixed babies,” Archer said, his smile now huge. Lana didn’t know what to say to this waterfall of emotions coming from him, but she could feel her eyes watering.

“Especially if one of them comes out with my blue eyes and AJ‘s color. That baby will rule the world,” Archer said, still rambling about mixed babies.

“Archer,” Lana said, reassuring this time as she squeezed on his hands.

“Right sorry,” he stammered, he let go of one of her hands and bent down on one knee, her eyes were puddles now, “I guess what I am trying to say, Lana Kane is that I love you, and want to spend the rest of my life with you. So, will you m-oh shit,” the sentence got cut off he pulled his hand away and searched his pockets for something.

“Did you lose the ring?” Lana asked, her emotions sobering up some.

“Oh no, oh no, I lost the ring,” he said, still dramatically patting his jacket, “I lost the ring,” he repeated a little louder.

“I got that, really Archer, it’s okay, these things happen,” Lana told him, disappointed, but not mad, Archer only shot her a weird look she didn’t understand.

“I LOST THE RING,” he said louder, almost shouting.

“I got that,” she answered confused, but as the words left her mouth, a little girl came out from one of the offices, not just any little girl, her little girl.

“This ring, daddy?” AJ asked him, holding up a little box as she joined the couple.

“Ahhhh, there it is,” Archer said, taking the box from AJ, he whispered something in her ear, and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, before retaking Lana’s hand. “Do you have anything to add princess?”

AJ smiled at her father, a reflection of his own. “Mommy?” she asked, getting her mother’s attention.

“Yes, dear?” Lana asked her.

“Will you marry daddy?” AJ asked Lana. Lana looked between the pair, her family, her beautiful, weirdly conceived family.

“I guess I can do that,” Lana told AJ, all eyes on her instead of Archer.

“Yay! Daddy, Mommy said okay!” AJ told Archer excitedly, throwing her arms around her father.

“Seriously?” Archer asked, genuinely a little surprised, he put one arm around AJ, returning the hug, and kept his other hand in Lana’s.

“Of course, yes,” Lana said, using his hand to help pull him up. He placed the diamond ring, huge of course, on her finger, before pulling her into a kiss. She wanted to deepen the kiss. She wanted to throw him on the ground and fuck him right then and there, but she was very aware of her daughter standing beside them.  

“Can you believe she said yes?” Archer asked AJ after he pulled away from the kiss. He swung her up into his arms, she was getting too big to carry, but he didn’t care.

“Duh,” AJ said dramatically, her parents couldn’t help but smile at her.

Archer placed a quick kiss on AJ’s forehead at the same time Lana placed a kiss on her cheek. “We love you, baby,” Lana told her.

“I love you too,” AJ said looking between the two, beaming because of all the attention. Lana was super thankful that Archer had thought to include AJ, but she really hoped that he had plans for her after this, because she wasn’t spending the night of her engagement sleeping. Lana met Archer’s eyes over AJ’s head and tried her best to convey her question without saying it out loud. He seemed to catch her meaning.

“Hey AJ, let’s go find grandma real quick,” Archer told her, setting her down.

“I can’t stay here with you guys?” AJ asked pouting.

“AJ, we talked about this,” Archer scolded.

“I’ll be right back,” Archer told Lana, giving her a quick kiss.

“Honestly, it’s been a year since you got out of the coma, and I still can’t believe that three years in a coma didn’t affect your ability at all,” Lana said panting, collapsing onto the mattress.

“I know right?” Archer said panting just as hard. They laid side by side for a moment, matching their heavy breathing. She hadn’t even totally caught her breath before Archer was back on top of her ready to go. “Round two?” He asked with a big cheeky grin.

“I am still recovering from round one,” Lana said exasperatedly.

“Well, if we don’t keep going how are we going to make all of those beautiful little mixed babies,” he asked, his hand caressing the side of her breast.

“About that...” Lana said, removing his hand from her breast and placing it on her abdomen.

Archer looked at her confused. He looked at his hand on her abdomen, then back up at her, a huge smile crossing his face as realization dawned on him, “Seriously?” he finally asked.

“Seriously,” Lana said smiling back, “I wasn't going to say anything tonight, but since you mentioned it.”

“I love you so much,” he said taking his hand and tangling it in her hair, pulling her into a bone-shattering kiss.  

When he finally pulled away, Lana couldn’t help but smile back at him. She was sure he had always had emotions, but would always be grateful that post-coma Sterling Archer was much better at expressing them, “I am glad you are excited,” She told him honestly.

He rolled back over next to her, stretching out on his side, and traced patterns on her belly. “Of course I am excited! I love AJ with all of my heart, but it will be nice to have a baby I put in you instead of one that you stole my sperm to make,” he told her with his usual cheeky grin.

Lana shoved him playfully, “it turned out all right,” she said, wanting to be annoyed at his never letting it go, but most of her couldn’t blame him, it had been shitty.

“Yeah baby, she was so obsessed with me, that she stole my sperm to make your sister,” Archer said, the words directed at her tummy.

She shoved him again, “I was not obsessed with you, plus the baby doesn’t even have ears yet.”

“What do you call stealing somebody’s sperm to make a baby then?” Archer asked, continuing his tracing on her belly.

“Desperate, not obsessed,” Lana admitted.

”Well, I guess I can take that,” Archer said. “Are you sure this is really happening?"

“Yes, Archer, this is really happening," Lana said.

Part 1 Part 2

[chocoholicannanymous]

Harry Potter and the Trunk

Just a little something that’s been bouncing around in my mind for a while, and finally allowed itself to be put into words. Zero beta done, zero brit pick.

Oh, and I solemnly swear I don’t own a thing. (Except for a very confused set of books.)

HARRY POTTER AND THE TRUNK / The Boy Who Left - Year One

When Harry arrived at Number Four, Privet Drive, he was exhausted. He’d slept poorly, walked around all day and had finished up by dragging his new trunk from the train station to the house. Add that his head was spinning from all the new information and the prospect of curling up in bed had never looked so good. Harry would even take his old cupboard over more walking.

Only when he went to open the door it was locked. The house was dark, and when he looked Harry realised that the car wasn’t in the driveway. He couldn’t say for sure, but it sure looked as if the Dursleys had yet to return home. Maybe they’re at the hospital with Dudley, Harry thought and felt his stomach churn. Seeing Dudley with a pig’s tail had been fun at the time, but that was when he had Hagrid to protect him.

There would be no one to do that now.

There was also the possibility that they were still stuck at the island, Harry realised, since Hagrid had taken the boat. Either way he’d be in so much trouble when they returned…

Whenever that happened.

He sat down on the doorstep and leaned back, trying to get comfortable. If the Dursleys still weren’t back by morning he’d have to figure something out, but for now he resigned himself to a long cold wait. If only he’d thought to grab his Gringotts’ key. Then he could have gone back to Diagon Alley, could have gotten himself a proper meal and maybe a room somewhere. Hadn’t Hagrid mentioned something about rooms at the Leaky Cauldron?

As he sat there and dreamed about food and a bed, and more importantly being warm, Harry felt his trouser pocket grow heavy. He stuck his hand in it and felt something hard, possibly metallic, that definitely hadn’t been there earlier. He pulled it out and stared.

It was his Gringotts’ key.

He knew he hadn’t gotten it from either Hagrid or the goblin at the bank. He certainly knew he hadn’t had it in his pocket five minutes ago, as he’d have felt it when he sat down. Maybe, Harry thought, this is what magic does. Like when I wanted to get away from Dudley and ended up on the roof… Maybe this is my magic’s way of telling me I should go back to Diagon Alley instead of sitting here.

He could do that. He could go there, and be safe and warm for the night instead of sitting out here where anything could happen. And then, Harry suddenly realised, in the morning he could find a phone and call to check and see if the Dursleys had returned home before making the trip again. There were phone booths all over London, and hadn’t he seen one just outside the Leaky Cauldron? And, and if he didn’t get an answer he could send his owl to Hagrid and ask for help! He’d almost forgotten that, Hagrid’s last words about Harry’s owl being able to find him if there was any trouble with the Dursleys.

Mind made up Harry got to his feet and started to trek back to the station. It was even harder this time, but at the same time it felt easier since he was moving away from Privet Drive, not towards it. He got on the last train with only seconds to spare, and sank down on a seat giddy with relief.

The next morning Harry had a luxurious (at least to him)breakfast, settled his bill and went out into Diagon Alley. The plan had been to call the Dursleys, or contact Hagrid, but having slept on it Harry decided he was going to take the opportunity to run some errands first. And the first thing he was going to do was return to the shop where he’d bought his trunk to find out if there was any way to make it lighter, as dragging it around was getting old. Surely there had to be some solution - they had magic after all!

There was another family being served in the shop, and while he waited Harry walked around looking at all the different trunks that were on display. Yesterday he hadn’t really noticed how many there were, he’d been overwhelmed and had just gotten the first trunk pointed out to him. But now, with more time and less stress, he could see that not all trunks were created equally. It wasn’t just the surface things, like type of wood, colour, size and such. No, again magic provided so many more options. He stood and stared down into a trunk that seemed to contain a hole, complete with ladder, when the shop assistant walked up to him.

“I see you’ve found our animal storage trunk.”

Harry turned around, curious. Animal storage? They made trunks for that?

“Ah, I see. It’s designed for travel, or other times when you can’t allow your pet to roam free. Instead you place it in this trunk - the room at the bottom is four by three meters, and there is a space for a litter box plus food and water bowls where they will be kept in place by charms.”

That...sounded amazing. Of course, Harry didn’t think he needed it for his owl, but… Well.

“So, is there room for other things, like books or clothes? And, well, could I go down and take a look?”

Less than a minute later Harry was shining a light around in the tight space. It was uninviting for sure, but it beat his old cupboard back at Privet Drive by leagues. It would be perfect.

Another trip to Gringotts and a hair-raising cart ride later Harry was the proud owner of an animal storage trunk. He was also in possession of far more galleons than he’d imagined ever carrying  around, along with £300 thanks to the goblins’ exchange service. The new trunk also had a feather-light charm on it (good for about three years without renewal) and a shrinking charm (the same) that turned his new trunk into the size of a breadbox. A shopping spree down the alley filled his “old” trunk (that could conveniently be placed in his new, now that it too had the weight and size charms) with books, while another one in muggle London added clothes, food and a few more useful items.

As night fell Harry put down his trunk in a forest clearing a couple of hours north of London, placed the ward stones he’d picked up in a circle around it - they were meant to works as a security system and a muggle repellent at the same time - and climbed into his trunk. Once down he readied a bed from the camping mattress and bedding he’d purchased, placed his storage trunk in a corner and made sure the bowls with food and water for his owl were filled before changing into pyjamas (new!) and stretching out on his bed with one of the books from the alley.

This is perfect, Harry thought. No more Privet Drive. No more Dursleys. No more pretending that I’m horrible in school. No more going hungry, or having to do chores, or being afraid I’ll end up back in the cupboard. This is going to make a good home until it’s time to leave for Hogwarts.

As he fell asleep to the soft hoots of the newly-named Hedwig Harry buried the voice that kept asking why, if he was going to leave for Hogwarts in a month, he’d bought enough food for months and spell-books that would last him years.

[faintlykatie]

people make vision boards, i make vision lists

1. hardwood floors worn down from years of running and slow dancing

2. a garden full of crops, from which i can make homemade food with

3. beehives

4. the bottom of the garden will be overgrown with wildflowers of a dozen species

5. fairy lights

6. so many mugs but none of them match

7. a big fancy double staircase so i can feel like a queen

8. a big fancy double bed so i can feel like a queen

9. somewhere around the woods/forest, beside a little river or brook

10. a loyal canine companion

11. a hammock nestled between the trees, where i can read peacefully, cuddle or fall asleep under beams of sunlight

12. stables (& a beaut horse)

13. a greenhouse full to the brim with flowers and plants

14. a spacious shed, which also acts as a miniature lab

15. a room filled from floor to ceiling with books, preferably with a window so i can sit next to it and read to my hearts content

16. a roaring fireplace on cold blue nights

17. stacks upon stacks of photo albums, picturing the story i have lived so far, reminding me to be appreciative of those who were and are in my life

18. dancing barefoot at midnight

19. succulents, cacti and plants everywhere, as if i won’t have enough outside

20. a handwritten recipe book, perfected from trial and error over years of experimenting

21. eating breakfast outside, breathing in late spring air

22. blanket forts every weekend - no exceptions

23. real hot chocolate, made on the hob with orange and cinnamon and cacao

24. sketches of the people and things i love, no matter how terrible they turn out

25. making cookies with my friend or s/o, always ending in a flour fight

26. one of those cool overhead waterfall showers

27. shared baths with bubbles, candles and lush bathbombs

28. braiding freshly picked flowers into her hair

29. breakfast in bed

30. open windows, fluttering curtains

31. board games on the living room floor in our underwear

32. ballet dancing to vinyls in the living room, for fun rather than anything else

33. scrambling onto the roof to watch the sun go down

34. unmade beds

35. going to the market rather than tescos, supporting local farmers

36. reading each other to sleep

37. walls adorned with polaroids of memories i would never want to forget

38. stargazing and talking about scientific theories

39. pressing flowers and keeping a scrapbook about their properties

40. shopping sprees that result in trying to fit all books and clothes we buy in the boot of the car

41. camomile and honey tea before going to bed

42. messy buns and no make up, not feeling the need to impress anyone

43. but on somedays, spending hours doing my make up and hair because it feels good

44. sitting at the dining table together energetically scribbling down novel ideas at 2 in the morning

45. impulsive road trips with the windows down and singing along to the karaoke playlist we’ll make

46. making fresh bread every week, leading to weekend mornings being the best because the loaf’s still warm

47. finding our own little spot where no one goes, sitting there and talking about anything and everything for hours

48. vines growing up the walls of the house, making it looked more lived in

49. going to the lake on a hot day, drinking strawberry lemonade and splashing each other with the water

50. sending handwritten letters to the people i love, wax seal and all

51. having tons of scented candles for all occasions. burning pumpkin ones at fall and lavender in the spring

52. stealing my s/o’s clothes, so when we’re not together or have to work, a part of her is always there

53. waking up every morning to a faint glow through the curtains, birdsong and a body pressed against mine

54. going to a pebble beach and finding rocks that look like their eyes

55. going ice skating, holding hands, drinking hot chocolate to warm up

56. giving names to all my plants

57. a little balcony with french doors where i can sip tea and watch the trees dance

58. having game nights with all my friends, new and old

59. having a proper skin care routine. indulging myself with lotions and oils and masks and rose water

60. people watching with someone I love, making up stories about their lives

61. dinner parties ending on the sofa with a few bottles of wine

62. curled up with the love of my life and our dog, binge watching movies

63. spontaneous day trips to iconic places and quaint little towns alike

64. socialising with strangers met at coffee shops, getting their number, making new friends

65. getting up early and doing yoga. watching myself and my body improve

66. carrying around a journal and painting whatever i can see whenever i have spare time. the journal filling up with portraits of strangers and drawings of my coffee

67. having the time to cuddle the love of my life for hours on end, stroking her hair and breathing in her shampoo

68. making surprise breakfast for my love before she wakes

69. making candles and collecting honey in my spare time, selling them as a little side job

70. passionate kisses in the living room. being out of breath afterwards, but smiling nonetheless

71. cute little matching tattoos

72. all-out christmases/yule. decorations everywhere.

73. waking up early in the morning because the dog jumped onto the bed and curled up on top of me, rather than because of nightmares

74. spying on my s/o from the doorway, watching them sing and act like a dork

75. going out at sunrise to water the plants in Summer

76. cleansing the house every now and again, feeling refreshed at the positive energy

77. museum dates and cafe dates and library dates and castle dates and garden dates and picnic dates

78. christmas shopping with my s/o, having silly disagreements on what to get a friend so ending up getting them both

79. paint fights while decorating the house

80. going to the local pick your own farm every year to pick strawberries and making them into pink lemonade or jam

81. giving each other massages after long days at work

82. going on walks with my friends down the routes we went on as teenagers. climbing familiar trees and befriending sheep

[bananashemmo]

Dirty Laundry

Pairing: Y/N/College!Badboy!Ashton

Rating: NC-All

Request: No

Words: 6.000+

Summary: Y/N has freshly started college and safe to say struggles living on her own. She doesn’t know how to wash her own clothes so she seeks hide at the laundry community room in the late hours not expecting someone else to be there as well. 

It was with wide eyes searching you opened the door to the community washing rooms. If it wasn’t for the facts the lights were still bright from inside and clean white you wouldn’t have been able to find it.

You weren’t even sure if it was open or not or if it needed a key. Every little aspect of this adventure was made out of spontaneously decisions.

It was happening so fast you were almost ready to drop all the things in your small embrace.

The lights weren’t less bright once you stepped into the room. The sounds of no machines running was your cause of sigh of relief. It was something you had sincerely feared and to get the theory tested paid off to your satisfaction.

You stood frozen for a second trying to figure out what to do. This was what you had thought about for hours now, it was the only reason why you were still up after midnight.

To finally get your clothes washed.

The big question was. How did you manage to go three weeks without doing a single thing?

It had been repeated in your mind several times but each time you couldn’t come up with a proper answer. You had literally just been using every single clothing you had brought along for college. Even all the socks that seemed to have a countless number.

You weren’t even sure if you had worn the same thing twice, everything looked the same. The pile on the floor was created because your chair in your dorm had been filled to the top.

You couldn’t even see the beige pillows your family had bought for you as a welcome to college present. It was all hidden in a pile of dirty mess.

Another question was, why did you wait so long until finally doing something about it? You had considered just doing it in the small wash you had in your bathroom but truth was, it wouldn’t last for four years.

You had to visit the community laundry for once and today had to be it. You were too tired to try searching for clothes that didn’t exist in your drawers anymore.

Not to mention it was kind of embarrassing inviting new people over because they would see the mess you just couldn’t stop. It was like no matter what you did the pile just grew bigger.

Skipping the many excuses and getting to the truth immediately.

You had no idea how you washed your clothes.

Or more likely you had seen your family members to it plenty of times. Even being the one to dedicate yourself to hang the many panties onto the drying rack when you were little to already show a bit of independence.

But to be honest it was all gone when you started for college.

Everything was so nice and good at first. You had no complications living alone and not under the control of someone else. You could also cook on your own and clean but when it came to washing clothes your whole mind went deadlock.

Not that it seemed that difficult. You just never understood the full meaning of how to do it.

And considering you were a twenty-year-old studying at your first year at college and supposed to be on your own without problems, you couldn’t help but feel completely lost.

You had considered at first trying seeking help for someone else. But you didn’t want to send your clothes back to the old house because that meant you would get the ‘I told ya’ sentence right in the head.

You were so desperate to avoid that.

You could also have asked a few of the new friends you had made but you didn’t know them that well. And thinking they would be your age as well it felt kind of embarrassing that you were so behind with it.

They probably knew just exactly well how to do the work without problem. Heck they probably managed to do it with their eyes closed!

You couldn’t even do it with open.

You also had been searching on Google for at least an hour. Trying to find tips on how to do it the best your own way and how you would divide your clothes into different piles. But it wasn’t everything you could remember so it was kind of given up.

The only thing that would make sense for you was to do it after midnight.

It made sure that nobody was up, people were either at parties or sitting home studying. Some even slept at your dorm so it was a perfect match you tiptoed out of the building and took the small walk down to the washing machines.

But during the process, you had realized that you couldn’t just put everything into a black bag and leave. It would not only cause a bit of attention but you had no idea what to do with the clothes once it was done.

You weren’t sure if they had machines to dry or if they had drying racks like back home. It wasn’t something you had checked outside of your dorms in the garden.

It was probably stupid but buying a white basket for this wasn’t really on your bucket list when you left for college.

But it also made sense why your parents didn’t say a thing about it. You had been the one to say you wanted to handle everything on your own.

That included buying all the stuff you needed and create a check list.

You wouldn’t call yourself a thief but you were desperate to get a basket and thinking back to hours at the library you knew some of the trolleys held white baskets to keep the returned books in.

You definitely needed the new name ninja because you managed to steal one of the baskets during classes without anyone noticing.

Not that many stayed at the library. It was either people seriously studying, being completely caught up in their books to notice anything from outside the fiction world or someone wanting to hook up.

You even swore you saw someone making out heavily on one of the couches. That was a check of something you didn’t want to sit in later on.

With a basket, everything seemed to be easier. You had something to keep it all in and it wouldn’t go lost in a large bag. You also looked very professional so if someone did walk past by it looked like you had everything under control.

But deep inside you were burning with doubts.

A basket wasn’t the only thing you needed. You also needed to buy soap, and not just some soap you could use in the shower or when you were washing the forks at the kitchen. You needed something special to use so you had been on a shopping spree.

It was a luck the shop assistant down by the local campus supermarket shared much help.

You had even made sure to write down what you needed on a piece of paper. It was something that was suggested on one of the many websites you had scanned through.

And feeling a bit embarrassed about not knowing what it looked like in real life you asked him if he was able to read what was written. Faking up a story about losing your contact really seemed to help on your lack of confidence.

But the bottle was large and trying to balance it on top of everything else felt like dead weight. How could something so simple as washing soap weight that much?

You almost felt like your arms were falling off and they felt like spaghetti normally.

You honestly looked nothing like someone who had control of everything. It didn’t help on the fact that rain had started to pour down the second you walked out of the dorm house.

You shrugged off the feeling of the clothes being wet, it only made it more prepared for what was going to happen. No, what made you fear even more was the slippy road.

What you thought was the hard trip hit you hard once reality kicked in.

You actually had to wash the clothes on your own.

A sudden feeling of stress ran across your spine when you looked at the many machines. You just had to pick one, it wasn’t that hard but with twenty of them and no idea how to use them, you felt completely useless.

Shutting your eyes carefully you took a deep breath from your nose and breathed out through your mouth.

It couldn’t be that hard.

With so many machines looking the same as you didn’t think some would be better than others. Besides, it would be weird if they all didn’t offer the same technical things so you just decided to go for one in the middle.

Because being out of the ordinary seemed to be the right way through.

Placing the basket on the top of one of the machines you couldn’t help but feeling a shock go through your body. Compared to how quiet it was the connection between the bottom of the basket and the surface of the washing machine echoed loudly in the room.

You would definitely feel sore tomorrow there was no doubt. That heavy weight wouldn’t cause any delight what so ever.

Leaning down to take the soap out of the basket you placed it next to the things and considered what the next step would be.

You looked over your shoulder with a heavy sigh and decided. It was now or it was never and it had to be done now. A decision was made.

As casually as you possibly could you slowly filled up the machine with as many clothes as you possibly could. It was a good thing you were alone because you couldn’t tell if the odd smell was from your clothes or from the machine.

You tried to remember back the steps. They weren’t that difficult right?

Fill up, soap up, close, turn on.

Pulling out the small drawer after using such a search trying to find it you sighed in relief. At least something good was happening out from this disaster already.

You had no idea how much to use and since it was too heavy to measure how much you filled it up you just continued until it looked fine. Like, more soap, the cleaner it would be. Right?

When the small square was almost filled to the top you tried your best to stop the bottle from tipping but of course it wasn’t stopped without a mess.

Profanities escaped loudly from your lips once you managed to spill a stain on your white shirt. Of course the liquid had to be green you were so sarcastically sure it would be easy to clean once you had finished with the rest.

“I mean come on.” You mumbled in disbelief after cursing for at least a full minute, placing the bottle down onto the floor and looked down at your shirt. 

You just wanted to bang your head into the small door of the machine because that was how horrible this felt. Maybe it was just easier walking around naked.

No, that wasn’t a better solution.

Rolling your eyes deeply by your clumsiness you spit on your fingers and hoped that it would just take a bit of the stain. Of course it had to be placed right in the center of your chest where a cleavage was slowly becoming visible.

It didn’t help that with a large stain you still had no idea how to turn on the machine.

You were on the edge of giving up.

If anything couldn’t get any worse a jolt ran through your body when the sudden sound of the door opened.

It was the last thing you had expected and without noticing you almost banged your head into the door of the washing machine trying to see who it was. You had only picked this time of night because you expected that nobody wanted to show up.

Your breathing was uneven from the adrenaline kicking in and within seconds your cheeks were turning into a bright color of red when you saw who it was.

Pressing your eyes tightly together you turned around to cover your face because this was just getting too much already.

Inside came one of the guys you had crossed at the hallways before. Actually, you had crossed him many times since you had started college but you well enough knew he wasn’t a freshman.

With a beanie to cover his long curly brown hair it was only sticking out in the ends. It was obvious it was still raining from the rain drops that ran down his leather jacket and with a cigarette between his fingers he quit it before stepping inside.

This was one of the last thing you just needed in your life right now.

His rumor was spread everywhere. You knew well enough that messing with this guy would cause death. He was a part of the group at college that everybody spoke about but nobody had the guts to speak to them.

With three of his other friends, he ruled the whole campus. But they still managed to blend in with the crowd and remained peaceful and quiet.

Only until something else was proved.

You had to count to ten a million times in your head before actually doing something. You didn’t understand what he was doing on this time at the night but of course he was only here to do the same thing as you.

Fixing his dirty laundry.

Taking a deep breath you managed to look a little less tense and focused back on the machine as he walked past you.

He held in everything you needed to do this kind of job. He was whistling very quietly simply because this was easy for him. It was the routine and he also looked older so he well enough knew how to take care of yourself.

Deep down you were still just a child, man.

You were trying to focus on your own thing but in the corner of your eye, you were watching him.

Everything seemed so easy just like when you were watching those YouTube videos. He had his own basket with only dark clothes, probably something he only wore besides the white t-shirt he had on now. It was probably his washing shirt.

But it seemed as time went so fast when he was done the silence was back and he leaned against the other washing machines with his phone in his hand.

Panic went back to your body because you had no idea what to do. You didn’t know for how long he was going to be here and since he didn’t look like someone who would just leave right in the second you couldn’t just stand like a frozen fish.

You had to do something.

Leaning up on your toes to look at the different buttons you tried to find something that at least indicated an on sign. God, why did you have to take the washing machines above you weren’t even that tall?

You had no idea how many buttons you had pressed by now but nothing seemed to happen. And the guy, he was definitely growing more suspicious than before.

“Uh-, You got everything under control?” He asked with a cigarette prepared between his lips, taking out it so he could speak.

“Yeah-, uh-, Sure...” You hesitantly managed to stammer but you didn’t even believe your words. 

He furrowed his eyebrows and without hesitation placed the cigarette behind his ear. You were so sure he would just focus back on his phone but when he suddenly stood behind you your breath hitched in your throat.

“You turn on the machine right here.” He explained and with his tall frame easily pointed at the button separated away from the others. 

You mentally wanted to kick yourself over the knee by your mistake. It was so obvious you could even recognize the small sign in the middle of the circle. Of course it had to be like this.

“Thank you.” You smiled generously and looked up at him with a small nod.

“No problem.” He commented back, a bit amused by your small mistake but instead of moving away he remained behind you. 

You looked up to look straight into his chin, a bit of stubble creasing around it. You weren’t sure what he wanted but he was furrowing his eyebrows with a clear thought in his mind.

“You know... You can’t really wash all your clothes together.” 

This time it was your turn to furrow your eyebrows. Looking into the machine lik him you took a look at the many colors that were mixed into one. Did it need to be divided into sections?

“Uh... No I didn’t.” Deciding not to follow the ‘Ive got this’ attitude you just settled with being honest. You were too exhausted to do everything else. 

The blush was right back to your cheeks once you had admitted the words, especially by the way he was staring at you. He wasn’t doing it in disbelief he sincerely just looked surprised.

He looked back into the laundry with his lips parted but he didn’t say anything. It wasn’t until he let out a small sigh and leaned his body against the machine.

“You don’t know how to wash clothes?” He asked and you shook your head instantly, “Because that’s kind of unfortunate considering you’re standing in a laundry room.” 

You didn’t know what to respond but the blush on your cheeks seemed to answer itself. This was the embarrassment you wanted to avoid.

“You know, separating your clothes makes sure you don’t ruin any colors.” He explained and turned around to take your basket. 

“Is that the one from the library?” He asked with a raised eyebrow, pointing at the basket. 

“Yeah... I kind of borrowed it.” You tried to sound as causal as possible but it just came out in a tiny voice.

He looked at you once again as if he was a bit of surprised by your actions. It was most probably something he hadn’t come across before and to be honest it wasn’t something you had expected in the middle of A.M.

“That’s a way of doing it.” He breathed after thinking and you watched him open your machine to take out your clothes.

You felt so useless but he was not the only surprised one. He didn’t even say anything he just took it all out and placed the basket back where it was before.

“Clothes need to be separated from shade and colors.” 

“So you need to make a wash for each one. But I only have one pink that’s a hell lot of water.” Panic was way back to your tone by your words and you leaned down to grab the pink shirt in your basket to wave it in his face. 

“No, no not like that.” He stopped you from waving and placed the shirt back in the basket. 

“You need to separate it in dark and light tones. So let’s say, all the light grey, white and such will be in one pile. Wild colors like this pink one should be in the dark pile along with black clothes and darker grey. Never blend it together. It doesn’t look good at all.” 

You watched him start to collect your clothes together while your eyes grew wider. It was a new era starting for you and to be honest it took you a few seconds to realize you most probably should help along.

“What about like denim? Is that light grey or dark blue?” You asked after holding up a jacket and he pointed towards an empty spot where you could place it. 

“That gets washed separately along with your underwear. You don’t want to mix that into the pile and lose a bra.” He explained like it was nothing but you couldn’t help but feel the redness again.

You did not expect the bra word to be mentioned from him. But okay then, it was pretty natural.

“When everything is piled up, you just use a few machines which are quite a luck considering you’ve chosen to do it this late.” He pointed at the many machines and banged his hands against a few.

“So I can just do it all at once?” You asked, not wanting to admit you only met up now in a serious hope of not meeting someone. 

“Makes my life so much easier. Even though I had a small wash today. Nothing much just a few socks and band tees.” He explained and you nodded your head in understanding. 

You weren’t sure of what to do but just followed along with his steps. He took the dark tones into the washing machine you had already tried to use so doing the most logical thing you pressed the white ones into the one next to.

“I hope you brought along your own detergent?” He asked and you quivered an eyebrow.

“Detergent? That’s what the soap is called?” You blurted all of the sudden, eyes wide in realization. 

Looking down at the green bottle he was seriously trying to hold it all in. He was trying to be polite and not laughing but in this situation it was hard. Even you were thinking how stupid this was.

“You seriously don’t know anything.” He commented and took a look at the bottle to see what you had actually bought. 

You shook your head by his comment and looked down at your feet. For some reason it didn’t feel any weird that a strange guy with a bad background was suddenly helping you with your dirty laundry.

It felt kinda like home.

To be honest you had always been afraid of him. The way he was walking with attitude always made you avoid walking his direction just like anyone else. But to be honest he was a sweetheart.

“Your name is Ashton, right?” It was a shot you gave, you had no idea if it was true but the name had been repeated as a guess for a while. 

“That’s correct.” He smiled and leaned over to shake your hand. “And your name?...”

He paused when you didn’t give him any answer and your eyes half widened.

“It’s Y/N.” You quickly responded and shook his hand, “My name is Y/N. I just started here three weeks ago.” 

“Nice choice of college I’d say.” He chuckled quietly and leaned his arm over to open the drawer that you had previously filled up with detergent.  

“You know you’re so nice considering...” You stopped in track when you were realizing what you were saying as he flicked his hair up to look at you. 

“Never mind I’m just rambling.” You made a motion with your hand to push away the small incident and looked down at the floor. 

“I understand.” He simply said like it was nothing and quickly changed the subject when he saw how much you had been using for the wash. 

“Did I use too much?” You asked with a hint of panic in your tone. You had no idea how much to use and it was pretty out of control when you first started. 

“I’m not saying you’ve used too much but that’s insanely much of detergent.” 

You both looked into the small poodle that was swimming around in the drawer. It was a coincidence you both laughed at the same time because neither of you could hold it in.

“I don’t know how much I should use!” You exclaimed to defend yourself, “The bottle was so loud I could barely have a control of it! Why don’t they just sell small ones at the store, seriously.” 

“They most probably do you just haven’t found them.” Ashton laughed more quietly to himself than you and took a look at the bottle. 

“Oh.” The only word that slipped past your lips in realization and you looked up at him with wide eyes. 

“You want a tip?” He asked and opened the other drawer to adjust the detergent with a spoon that looked like a soup spoon to divide it better. 

“Before leaving for dirty laundry fill some detergent in an empty water bottle. That way you don’t have to carry that large thing that’s also bigger than yourself and you will know that you won’t use too much of it.” 

He walked over to his own basket and waved a bottle of blue detergent in the air that was portioned into a water bottle. 

You stood with an impressed look and watched him fill the last machines to continue the work you should have done. 

“Afterwards you change the water temperatures. Cold for anything you don’t want to shrink or fade, hot for whites, linens, and towels, warm for everything else.” He explained and pointed at finger at you to get your attention. 

“Remember, when in doubt: cold water won’t get your clothes as clean as hot water, but it also won’t ruin anything.”

You had honestly no idea the water could actually change temperature. You just thought it was hot like usual and when it was done it would cool down before hanging it up on a dry rack. 

This should have been a moment in one of your classes where you would just take a note of every single thing. 

“Use your student I.D, press start and you’re ready to go.” He explained, shutting every door and turned on the machines with less than seconds between.

The moment couldn’t be described. You stood completely frozen in some sort of satisfaction watching all the clothes being washed. And to be honest it wasn’t that big of a horror after all. 

“And what we do now is we wait.” He smiled and used his hands to lift his ass up to sit on one of the machines. 

You looked at him for a second before deciding to do the same thing. It was exhausting washing clothes that were for sure and you couldn’t wait to sit down.

But when you tried to lift yourself up it wasn’t going the way you wanted it to. It wasn’t like the machines were that tall maybe you were just too weak to even carry your own weight. 

It wasn’t after many attempts Ashton had watched you he decided to jump down from his and stand in front of you. 

“Turn around so your back is facing it.” He instructed and you stopped from your attempts a little bit out of breath to look up at him. 

The height difference was clear when you stood right in front of his heaving chest. He even smelled nice, something that stood out from the rest of the room. 

Without hesitation, Ashton leaned down to grab the back of your thighs and in reaction you couldn’t help but wrap your arms around his neck. You didn’t want to be the one to be dropped but with ease, he lifted you up and placed you on the machine. 

“You think I’d drop you?” He asked, noticing the lack of trust from you. 

“No it was just...” You paused when you realized you still had your arms around him, your noses centimeters from touching. 

You didn’t finish the sentence you just moved your arms away from him and tightened your lips. To be honest your mind was cloudy for a full moment you didn’t really know what to say.

“Thank you.” You mumbled and he smiled again.

“No problem.” He went back to the machine he had previously been sitting at and without ease jumped onto it again. 

You gazed at him as the machine worked quietly. Why was it everyone seemed so scared of him? He wasn’t even that scary, he was tall and he was broad there was no doubt the tee he was wearing struggled. But he just seemed like a sweetheart. 

“How do you not know how to do laundry?” 

The question you had been waiting for but also the one you feared the most. You had been preparing an answer in your mind for a while but nothing normal seemed to come up. 

“I uh-,” You looked down at the white tiles and held your breath, “I just don’t think I ever got the chance to learn it.” 

“What are you, mommy’s darling?” He asked, not sounding so jokingly and you quivered an eyebrow. 

“Mommy’s darling? What is that supposed to mean?” You asked as you swung one leg over the other. 

“Nothing, I’m just saying... You just look pretty innocent. Probably the last one born in the family and not much for lifting your pinky finger unless you want to scold at someone... Am I correct?” 

You almost wanted to roll your eyes. And he was suddenly the one being judging?

“Well I’m not the one walking around beating up anyone or like carrying a gun.” You commented and lowered your eyes down to his pants but widened your eyes when you realized what you were staring at. 

“I’ve never had a gun with me.” He was quick to comment but the other thing made him scratch his beard. 

“And I only beat up people who deserve it.” 

“Well yeah that’s a great reason to suddenly beat up people. People shouldn’t even be that frightened of you I mean the scariest thing you can do is doing laundry at 00:53? I mean wow, come at me Ashton.” 

He seemed pretty challenged by your cocky attitude, something he had not expected from your side at all. 

“Innocent and scrappy I see.” He folded his hands together and again your jaw fell in surprise. 

“I’m so not scrappy? And innocent I mean look at fucking badass I am.” You jumped down from the machine without hesitation and it was a luck you landed correctly because you could predict it would end up bad. 

Folding your shirts out for him to see you showed the large stain that was in the middle of it. 

“I’ve never seen anything more badass in my life I must admit.” He commented very impressed but the sarcasm was clear as well. 

“Wait hold on, you need the cigarette and beanie as well.” He jumped down from the machine he was sitting at and took off his beanie.

What had been hiding inside of the beanie surprised you, you did not expect to see that many curls. It was quite a mess on the top of his head but he saved it by running his fingers through it a couple of times.

“Give me that.” You said sternly trying to stay in the character, taking the cigarette away from Ashton’s hands and placed it on the top of your ear. 

“Here.” He took off his leather jacket and wrapped it around your shoulders. 

It was at least twice your size if not bigger. You could almost be two of your own kind inside of it that was how big it was but it still smelled so nice you couldn’t help but nudging your nose into it. 

“Am I badass now?” You asked, trying to make a motion with your mouth to look worse than you probably ever would.

“No I’m sorry.” He laughed again and ran a hand through his hair. 

“You just can’t help but being cute all the time.” 

You almost wanted to roll your eyes again but the compliment was enough to make you smile instead. You shook your head in disbelief and looked into the windows because dear god how you just looked ridiculous. 

“I don’t even think I would be scared of myself...” You mumbled but then an idea came to your mind. 

“Here.” You leaned over to grab your scarf and your jacket, “You should wear my clothes for a bit. Maybe people will actually judge you on your kindness instead of fearing being beaten up.”

“People actually think that of me?” He asked with raised eyebrows but afterward shrugged his shoulder. He was well aware of it. 

You helped him along with wrapping the scarf around his neck to make it look pretty but with the jacket, you both knew it wouldn’t work out. 

“You know I don’t want to ruin it...” He commented, looking at the size that definitely didn’t fit him. 

“That’s okay... The scarf adds up for everything.” You smiled and placed the jacket back into your stolen basket. 

He laughed in agreement and turned around when the sound of the beeping came from his machine. It also made sense because he had started his before yours. 

“It’s time to learn about drier machines.” He announced excitedly with a bit of a gurly voice, trying to hide the tattoos he had on his hands.

“I’m very excited.” You giggled, trying your best to sound just a bit macho but it wasn’t working the slightest. 

Who would have thought this would turn into something fun. You didn’t have to be the slightest nervous because with instructions from Ashton everything seemed to go so smooth and easy.

He even shared tips here and there to make sure you wouldn’t fuck it up completely. He was also the sweet one to share a few dryer sheets for you to use. Safe to say he was a true buddy and you were happier that he was there instead of standing alone. 

“You think you’ve got control of everything now? Nothing turned into something cookie monster blue or mean girls’ pink?” He asked after fishing out the clean dried clothes from his machine. 

“I think that was it.” You commented a bit amazed, trying to make sure you got everything out from the machine. 

“If I could just reach everything.” You mumbled a bit irritated, next time you would definitely take some of the machines from the rows below. 

“Just a few socks left.” Ashton commented and grabbed your basket with ease to pull out the rest from your machines. 

You looked at him thankfully and took a step back to check that everything was in alright. You were finally one. It was all clean and ready to be used again. 

“Thanks for borrowing the scarf. It was nice being nice for once.” He said with a blink in the eye and wrapped it off his neck to put it into the basket. 

You giggled by his words and grabbed the basket when he returned it to you. 

“Thank you Ashton. This was very sweet of you.” You smiled, watching him head over to his basket and prepared it in his embrace after he took the beanie off your head and onto his instead. 

“No problem. This might not be the last time we meet.” He said softly and headed towards the door. 

“Oh you also need your leather jacket.” You stopped him from walking out the door but he just shook his head and smiled. 

“No just keep it for now...” He smiled so much he showed dimples in his cheeks, “It looks good on you.” 

You couldn’t help but feel your cheeks blush one last time as he said his goodbyes and walked out from the washing rooms with a small thud. 

Looking down at the leather jacket you noticed how the name Irwin was engraved with dark lines right above the chest, and the redness was definitely just as big as your basket. 

[alwaysreblogneverpost]

Lance sat on the floor of the blue lion’s cockpit, back leaning against the pilot’s chair as he tinkered on the small robot in front of him. ‘How are you faring, my cub?’’ Blue’s voice rumbled, a steady and calming presence always at the back of his mind. Lance couldn’t help but smile, the lion had been the only real constant in his life since they left Earth – the other paladins were always around the castle, sure, but none of them really ever seemed to want him around or appreciate him – and thus his bond with her had grown in leaps and bounds. He’d even wager that he was the only one that had bonded so strongly with his lion that their quintessences had bound together; this was a great asset as he was able to manipulate his own quintessence far more easily than before their binding, and he was now able to borrow her powers to some extent (not that the other’s knew, as when he had tried to bring it up he had been shut down and brushed off, so he had left it be).

“I think I’ve almost got it,” he hums, making a few miniscule adjustments to the wiring as he spoke. Blue, though he had taken to calling her ‘Azul’, just to have something that’s between just the two of them, had been helping him replicate herself on a much smaller scale; leaving the secondary blue lion that he had dubbed ‘Leona’ to be about the size of a standard main coon. He’d been working on it the last few months whenever he had down time as a way to busy his hands and reflect on his place in Voltron as part of the team.

He wouldn’t call himself a genius, not by any means, but he also knew he wasn’t stupid like the others seemed to think; he had managed to make a miniature of Azul for quiznaks sake. He couldn’t do some of the things that Pidge or Hunk did, but he could replicate what they made given enough time to work on it. Instead he was good with languages and people; he had learned English as a second language when he was accepted into the Galaxy Garrison, had steadily been learning Altean with Coran’s help and even Galran with (secret) help from Kolivan, and could read people incredibly well within a few hours of knowing them.  He wasn’t an amazing leader like Shiro, who could (almost) always do what was best for the team, able to lead and inspire them with ease and command attention and respect with a subtle change in voice. In place of those abilities the blue paladin could remain calm and collected in any situation, could act any part he was given, and kept tension light between all of them. He wasn’t a (near) perfect diplomat like Allura, but he was an astounding strategist – when the team allowed – that could pick apart any plan placed in front of him and identify nearly if not every flaw it had, and then improve it. Coran was the one he had the best relationship with, viewing the older man as an uncle and even calling him tío from time to time, but even so Coran had things to do about the castle and – as much as he loved talking to him – Lance sometimes needed a break from Coran’s constant stories of Altea, as they made him homesick if he listened for too long. Keith, on the other hand, he probably had the worst relationship with; though if he was honest he knew that most of the animosity on his side of things was born of jealousy, and Kogane was probably just giving as good as he got; at least, most of the time that was what he was doing, there were some days that Lance didn’t do anything to him at all but he’d still seek Lance out for a fight. Keith, perfect fucking Keith, was the favored paladin of Shiro – he would deny it, but they all knew it was true, and it probably wouldn’t bother him so much had he not fallen hard for the black paladin – and likely everyone else besides Coran who had told Lance himself that he favored blue over red, or any of the other colors. He was a soldier, excelled in hand-to-hand and close combat fighting which were, admittedly, better suited for most of their missions, as opposed to Lance’s preference for long range weaponry, though he could use a trident or spear well enough if he got his hands on one. Keith was fiery and passionate – he could be to, about the right thing – whereas Lance was colder, and more calculated, needing to take a step back and analyze before acting, even if he did trust his instincts to the fullest extent (he had to, he rationalized, during a war he didn’t sign up for but fought anyways). Keith ran headlong into situations without a thought, which made him a formidable fighter, but Lance was quiet on his feet and could sneak into almost anywhere without being caught, which made him good for recon missions. The blue paladin knew for a fact he wasn’t useless to the team, but it still felt like he was when no one would give him the chance to prove himself; his talents weren’t flashy or overly obvious like the others’, which meant they got overlooked more often than not.

“And… done,” he beamed as he fixed the last panel into place, setting down the smaller lion in front of him. “I’m hoping that you’ll be able to transfer your quintessence into it should something happen. Like, yeah, being down a lion would be bad for Voltron, but a useless lion is still useless in the hands of the enemy, right? Do you want to give it a go, Beautiful?” He didn’t get a response as he felt Blue essentially shut down around him, a soft blue glow surround the smaller robot before the little lion’s eyes lit up a bright yellow as it let out a ‘mrow’ – rolled r and everything – lunging forward into his lap to seek affection.

‘You have done so well, cub,’ she crooned, a soft rumbling purr coming from her new body. ‘I have the most wondrous paladin of all the lions,’  her praise made him blush, a bashful smile on his face, ‘Never has any paladin thought to make a secondary body for their lion. Now I will not have to leave your side.’

“Easy there, Azul,” he laughs, pushing her off his lap in good nature. “You can’t just take this little guy for a spin right after it’s completed. We’ll have to keep working on it, make sure there aren’t any bugs that need to be fixed before we show the others. Plus, your quintessence is a pretty large presence to be in such a tiny robot, we don’t know how well our bond will help with the overflow.”

‘If you insist, my cub.’ Her voice was resigned, and he felt her disappointment about it himself, but it was only smart to make sure everything worked properly before letting Azul run around in it. He didn’t want her to get hurt, after all. He watched as the glow faded from the small robots eyes and felt Blue come alive around him again, sending her a good deal of love and affection over their bond. He was about to suggest going for a fly when his wristband beeped, Hunk letting him know that training was starting. Saying a goodbye to Blue, Lance makes his way to the training deck, ready to work hard with his team.

~*~

Lance spent the next week training, both on his own and with the others, cleaning with Coran, or spending time with Blue, working out the kinks in the smaller robot and practicing their manipulation of quintessence. He had been on his way to work with blue again when the alarms had gone off, sending him sprinting to the hangars in into Blue, they were taking off before he was even in the pilot’s chair, as he changed out of his everyday clothes and into his armor; he’s glad he kept it in his lion, and that he had modified of few of Coran’s storage cubes to be stored in his armor via quintessence like his bayard. Grinning, his eyes glowing a soft blue thanks to his bond with Azul, Lance eagerly flies to battle, determined to protect the family he built in space.

~*~

Lance doesn’t remember how he got to this planet, so similar to Terra, to his home planet Earth, that it sends a pang of heartache through his chest. It was primarily ocean based, the water a brilliant turquoise like the precious stone he remembers being so fond of back on Terra for some reason, with scattered islands that varied in size and distance from one another. They were all very similar, with soft pinks sands, a lilac sky and flora that was all manner of blues and greens, with a spattering of different colors here and there. Lance resided on one of the smaller islands, still large relatively in size considering it was at least the size of Hawaii back on Terra and he had the entire thing to himself. There was a much larger island to – what he understood to be – the East; when he had done what he could, which was admittedly not much at first, to secure himself a form of transport, he had made his way there with Leona on his shoulders in order to find out what he could do for food or shelter on the island he had deemed his own. He had been lucky, the crystals he had collected on a whim so long ago on a different planet, the name of which escapes him presently, were incredibly valuable here, and could be used as a form of currency. He had several storage cubes worth of the small crystals – they really weren’t much bigger than one of Leona’s claws – and each one bought him enough goods that, after his initial spree to buy everything his would need to survive here (a proper boat, a way to build shelter, and other important everyday items), each one bought him far more than he ever truly needed at one time. He had spent a whole three gems at a tailor’s shop buying fabric and tools in order to make his own clothing, but after that he tended to break them into halves when he needed to buy anything, since the only things he really bought was either food or things to create more armor or weapons for himself. He had been lucky, waking up washed up on the beach with a bow slung over his back and covered in head to toe armor; he didn’t need it here, and hadn’t in the months since his appearance, but the locals had told him stories of the Galra, a terrible empire that conquered planets and enslaved the people living there; or worse, obliterated them all together like they did to Altea in all the stories he’d been told. He had also been told of the tales of Voltron, and the rumors that it had returned only for one of the paladins to go missing in battle not long ago.

Now the locals, they were interesting; they were shorter than him by close to a foot on average, leaving most of them at chest height or shorter. They looked like anthropomorphic cats to him, but with furs of soft pastels across the rainbow instead of being confined to the standard colors, though he had seen some pelts of soft grays, gentle golden browns, and the occasional brilliant white. The leader of the tribe he interacted with reached to just under his chin, and was a soft golden brown in color, reminding him of the large cats from Terra called pumas; he was a kind man, with an equally kind husband and cub of their own, welcoming him in his time of need and allying with him in the event of the Galra finding this planet. He was good friends with most of the village, and on good terms with those he didn’t know well, which meant he enjoyed his time with them once a week when he made a day of traveling to the larger island, though if he had the chance he often took to joining the fishing party on their trips; the water was nontoxic to him, and he was the only one not afraid to go for a swim while fishing, which allowed him to haul in the more exotic prizes that dwelled deeper in the water. He spent a large amount of his time playing with Leona, the cub-sized lion robot that sat on his shoulders during his trips, or would sit on his boat when he was in the water.

Lance smiled as he rested his arms over the side of his small boat, out for nothing more than a swim a few hundred yards from his island, petting Leona as she began purring at the sight of him. He caught site of himself in the reflection of the water – only mildly distorted because of the color, he thinks idly – as he had lifted himself up for a rest, smiling contentedly to himself as he reflects on the changes that he’s gone through since he ended up here.

His hair was longer, French braided and reaching down to the small of his back (he’s neglected to cut it for the five or so months he’s been here out of shear laziness, he’ll admit, and it had already been getting shaggy when he landed), and his skin is a bit darker due to the increased amount of sun he’s been getting. His eyes have gained a gentle glow over time, a side effect of his bond with Leona he theorizes, what with the fact that there’s so much quintessence that he’s had to keep in check in order for her to have a proper ‘life’, though he’s unsure if the silver that overtakes them completely when he gets particularly angry originates from the bond as well. His left ear’s been pierced in the past months, leaving him with a crystal stud with a matching teardrop hanging from it in his lobe and a pair of obsidian colored hoops resting near the top of his ear just where it begins to curve, and he’s also gotten a tattoo of a yellow tulip with the word ‘Blanco’ expertly hidden in matching white colored ink in one of the petals on his left wrist, and another that rested on the lower right hand side of his back just above his hip; it consisted of a blue paw print outlined heavily in black, surrounded by pairs of black calla lilies, lavender roses, and forget-me-nots, in what he thought to be a rather lovely arrangement. It had taken a lot of finagling before he was able to get the artist to understand exactly what he wanted, and had taken even longer to get the perfect outline of each flower, but it had been well worth it to him – if only he had been able to remember why it had been so important to him to have these exact tattoos.

He sighed once more in contentment as he gave the demanding cub in front of him his full attention and affections; he might not remember how he got here, he mused, or even much about his past, but he was happy. A feeling of love washed over him from his bond with Leona, the small lion leaning forward to press her nose against his; yes, he thought, he was happy.

[bdo-kenai-kanu]

The Rescue Mission

A few months had now passed; winter and spring were gone and summer was now warming the stone city of Calpheon. Deoku and Kenai had been keeping busy making a name for themselves around the area both in and outside of the city walls.  Many have now heard of the two adventurous strikers and keep them well supplied with jobs.  As a result, the two gained enough silver and gold to get their own place and move out of the Inn.  While still not a palace it has everything they need for the time being.  Beds for them to sleep on, a cheap cooking utensil/stove, and a room for bathing if they choose though they still tend to enjoy the river every now and again.  Though they still lack furniture the duo has some decorations scattered about their home; mainly souvenirs from their various adventures.  Indeed things were looking up thanks to the hard work they put in. 

Deoku yawned and stretched as he sat up from his bed.  It was a new day and new tasks awaited him and his pupil. "Aww man, that was a nice rest..." the striker spoke to himself as he looked around for his clothes getting ready to start the day.  

He went over to the dresser in the room and pulled out his trusty armor. "Hmmm..", upon taking it out he noticed how worn and beat up it was becoming.

The man looked through the clothes still inside and noticed that it was the same for Kenai's as well.  They'd been working so hard but hadn't taken any time to upgrade or change their clothing.  "Yeeeaaah, we're going to have to do something about this.", he mumbled to himself again.  After breakfast, it's straight to the clothing shop Deoku thought.  This would be the perfect way to celebrate some of their success and get some much needed new clothing.

By the time Deoku had awoken, Kenai was already in the washroom, cleaning up and preparing for the day, having gotten out of bed a few minutes before. Once his teeth were brushed, his face washed, and his hair tied back, he stepped out of the bathroom, dabbing at the side of his face with a hand towel to dry the moisture from his damp skin. He spotted Deoku upon exiting, offering his mentor a lopsided, boyish grin in greeting, "Mornin'."

"Morning, Ken. You're up early I see.", Deoku greeted his friend. "You seem to be eager to get going today.", he mentioned as he tossed what he would wear onto the bed, before heading into the bathroom to brush his teeth and wash up.  

"I was looking over our armor...I didn't realize how much abuse it's been through these last few months.  We'll have to get them repaired, but aside from that I think it's time for something new." the teacher smiled to his student.  

"We've been successful these last few months and have plenty of business. I think our clothes should reflect that. You know, dress for success as they say.", Deoku then explained as he coated his toothbrush in paste. "So after we eat I figured we'd head over to the shop and pick out something new and fitting for us before heading out on our job today.", he concluded as he began to brush his teeth.

Kenai blinked, watching Deoku disappear around the corner and into the washroom, lofting a brow before looking over to where his own clothing for the day was laid out. Currently, he was only clad in his leggings, the rest of his gear on his bed and as he walked over to his stuff and looked it over, he began to realize what it was Deoku was getting at. The gear and clothing Kenai had certainly shown its use, having been re-stitched and patched numerous times, hems frayed, and stains here and there from blood or something else.  The fabric had begun to wear thin in some places, losing its integrity and he had lost count of how many times a garment had been torn or punctured by a blade or arrowhead that luckily missed its mark. 

"Huh..." As his mentor washed up and prepared for the day, Kenai slipped his tunic on over his bare torso and moved to prepare a simple breakfast for them both to start their day, some toast with eggs and fried slices of ham. While he cooked, he made sure to prepare some coffee as well, the aroma wafting through their modest abode. 

"So what's the plan for today?" he asked setting out the meal onto the plates that graced the table, "Besides your planned shopping spree?" he added with a smirk.

"Whoa slow down there Mr. Rich-man.", Deoku joked in return with a chuckle, before washing the toothpaste out of his mouth. "No shopping sprees. We're just taking the old armor in for much-needed repairing and we are each going to get one new set of armor. After that we have to make a quick stop to Olive's to pick up some food she made for us today to take with us on our job.", the older gentleman explained.  

"As for the job itself. Apparently, an outpost not too far from here needs a hand dealing with the Khuruto. They seem to be taking in prisoners again and we’re asked to do the job of finding and freeing them.", Deoku told Kenai as he changed into his top that he'd be wearing temporarily until they grab some new armor.

Kenai listened intently, nodding at length as he seated himself at the table with breakfast done, pouring Deoku and then himself a cup of coffee, "Ah, I was hoping for a good work out today. The Khuruto seem to be a nuisance in that area I've noticed. Think I recall Tabitha saying something about it before but I can't be sure." He took a sip from his coffee before settling into his meal, awaiting his mentor to join him at the table.

"Yeah, between the Khuruto and the Harpies; that outpost has it tough.", the striker agreed as he pulled out a chair at the breakfast table. 

"The breakfast looks good and I'm starving. Thanks for making this Kenai.", Deoku said as he grabbed his fork and started digging into his meal.  "Anyway, we can't permanently solve their problem but at least we can free their prisoners and cause the Khuruto a bit of trouble in the process."

An eager grin crossed Kenai's boyish face, the glimmer of mischief in his hazel blue eyes. "Oh this is gonna be fun." he mused. 

He chuckled lightly, raising his coffee for another sip, "And you're welcome! Figured we gotta start the day off right, besides, Olive would have a conniption if she knew we did have a proper meal before heading out to punish the baddies." he smirked playfully. 

Over the time they had known the half-elf, Kenai had found himself growing exceptionally fond of her. "It will be nice to see her, I haven't been over in, like, a week."

Deoku laughed a bit seeing Kenai starting to get worked up. "Try not to have too much fun. The Khuruto can be dangerous if you're not on your guard. Especially the tall ones with the spears, definitely watch yourself around them,” the teacher warned his student; hoping to keep him level headed. He took a sip of his coffee between bites of his breakfast. 

"Speaking of Olive, I'm sure she'd be happy to see you.  She always asks about you."

A small blush touched his face as Kenai sheepishly itched at his cheek, "She does, huh?" 

He cleared his throat, getting over his moment of bashfulness, grinning brightly, "I'll definitely have to go and pay her a visit then. I'm sure she wouldn't mind the company seeing as how she's always stuck with you, the poor thing." he snickered cheekily. 

"Trust me, I know what that's like!" he further teased, "I kid, of course."

Deoku chuckles, "Keep dreaming buddy. She can't get enough of me. " The striker then thought for a moment.  

"You know speaking of elves... I'm not sure if I mentioned this to you, but a few months ago I spotted those bothersome elves I told you stories about..", he said as he finished up his breakfast.  

"Hopefully they've gone back to Grana by now. When those two are around it's nothing but trouble or a hassle for me.", the thought alone began to make a rain cloud over Deo's day but he quickly brushed it aside trying to figure out what type of armor he wants to get.

Kenai paused in collecting his dishes for the sink, now standing from his chair he regarded his mentor curiously, "Wait... really? Here? Huh... wonder what brought them out this way...." 

He puzzled over that as he went to wash his plate and mug. "Well, I'm sure they must have lost interest in this human city by now and went home. From what you told me, they don't seem like the type to dwell long in places like this."

"One can only hope, but you underestimate exactly how obsessed that guy is with Lei," Deoku explained further. "The man has spent hundreds of years chasing her constantly being rejected yet never getting the hint even though it's a very direct and clear rejection.", the striker then got up taking his dishes over to the sink.  

"All he sees is the throne  and what having her would mean for his status."

Kenai wrinkled his nose at that, scoffing, "Sounds like a real piece of work." With his dishes done and cleaned, he dried his hands off on a hand towel before walking over to where his gauntlets rested on a table by the front door, slipping them on and adjusting them,  "Let's hope we don't run into them any time soon."

"Hopefully we don't. Otherwise, I think today is going to be a good one.", Deoku smiled at his friend as he finished cleaning up his dishes. He then moved to put the armor they were taking to get repaired into a large bag and tied it closed. "There we'll just go  drop these off at the blacksmith and see what armor shops have in stock."

Kenai nodded, taking a moment to stretch his shoulders and chest by swinging his arms forward and back, "I'm ready when you are. It's gonna be hot as hell today though, I can already feel it." he commented, eyeing the door. "Hopefully it won't be so bad."

"You're not wrong about that.",Deoku agreed. "Let's make sure we have enough water before heading out on that quest. ", the striker suggested.  

"Thankfully, we'll be down in the Khuruto cave majority of the time and it's cool in there.  Crowded with Khuruto and traps but still not as hot as being above ground.", he then chuckled making his way toward the door.

"Nah, just the smell," Kenai remarked, crinkling his nose at the thought as he stood outside, the heat of the day already engulfing them as they exited their home. 

Hardly a breeze stirred and when it did, it blew warm air which hardly proved a relief. Fortunately, it was not so hot that it was unbearable and the shade cast by trees offered some shelter. With their home locked up, the pair of Strikers set out on their first errand of the day.

"At least it doesn't seem to be too bad. We've had heat far worse than this. I'm just glad we aren't in the desert this time of year." the man commented. 

Deoku walked along Calpheon's cobblestoned roads; the bag of armor draped over one of his shoulders. "So any ideas on your next armor Ken?", Deoku wondered. 

The two had always worn the same armor for as long as he could remember, so he had no idea what really appealed to Kenai's fashion sense.

Kenai contemplated it, glancing down at himself in speculation as they walked, the streets already busy with citizens at this time of day despite the heat, "Something less... loose, I guess. And thicker." 

He regarded the thin cotton of his well-worn attire, "Leather would be a big upgrade, don't have to worry about as many rips and tears in my gear. My arms need to be free though, so no sleeves...." he trailed off, thinking about what he was looking for, "Something sturdy and versatile I suppose." he finalized with a small shrug. He would know what he liked when he saw it.

"I'm sure you'll find what you're looking for.",Deoku replied as they walked; dodging between other citizens every now and then.  

"To be honest I have no idea what I want to get. My armor has always been my original striker armor through thick and thin. Once I had officially moved up to the rank of a master striker it's pretty much all I've worn; repaired and fixed more times than I can count.", he told his student.  

"Something new will be interesting though and it's not like I'm abandoning my striker gear ...we're still getting it repaired. The thought just feels odd to me for whatever reason."

Kenai smirked, unable to help a playful snicker at his mentor's expense, "Truth be told, I doubt there's anything left of the original material seeing how many times it's been repaired. I should start calling you patches." 

It was a jest all in good fun as they rounded a corner, sidestepping a rider and his camel as they plodded on along the road, large bushels of apples tethered to its saddle. "But hey, it could be worse- at least you're not running around the streets naked fighting crime. Think that would freak people out. Watch out- here comes the Nekkid Fist!" he chortled, ignoring the weird look he got from an old woman they passed.

"Hey, someday people are going to come from miles around to see my armor on display in some important collection of legendary artifacts. ", Deoku chuckled at the thought of his armor becoming an important piece of history for future generations.  

"As for the fighting naked part. I don't know about that, but I could imagine we'd stop a lot of people with bad plans just so they could avoid us showing up. You might be onto something Kenai!", he jested back at his friend. 

"We should be close now.  It'll be nice to get rid of carrying this bag for a while.", Deo stated as his shoulders thanked him for the thought.

Kenai couldn't help the snort that punctuated his guffaw, finding the whole thing ridiculously funny. He held up a hand as if the halt any further exploration into the topic as he laughed, "Oh Gods, please no!" 

 He nudged his mentor good-naturedly, "If for nothing else than to spare poor Olive from dying of embarrassment at seeing you indecent!" 

His lopsided, boyish grin remained as his laughter ebbed and he patted Deoku on the shoulder, "I can carry it if you need a break." he offered.

"I guess for Olive's sake we'll keep wearing armor.",Deoku further pondered. "With how she is it would be hard for me to tell if she likes it but runs away from embarrassment, runs away from horror/disgust, or a mix of all of them." the striker chuckled thinking of the reactions of his girlfriend. 

Stopping his laughter to respond to Kenai offer of assistance, "It's alright, we're almost there." the older man pointed at the shop up ahead; eventually making their way through the bustling crowd and through the shop doors. It was far less crowded inside. Only a few knights, guards and other warriors looking around for new gear and weapons.

Once inside and out of the growing heat of the day, Kenai let his gaze roam the shop's wares on display, glinting armor, well maintained and polished gracing racks, shelves, and cases. Some suits were full plate, others leather, even a few robes could be spotted throughout the shop and as the younger Striker took it all in, he let out a low whistle of approval. "Wowzers. Get a load of all this stuff...."

"Pretty impressive isn't it?", Deoku said as he looked around taking in the view as well. 

"Welp, go ahead and take a look around. I'm going to give our armor to the shopkeep and see what he can do with it.  I'll join you in a few.", the tall striker then walked over to the shopkeeper. 

"How's it going?", Deoku greeted the man. 

"Heh, as busy as ever and impossible to stay cool in this summer heat. What can I do for you?", the shopkeeper replied.  

"Well me and my friend were looking for some new armor, but I also wanted to see about getting our current armor repaired as well." , Deo mentioned as he sat the bag on the countertop.  

The shop owner reached in and pulled out one of the armor pieces; inspecting it from all angles. "You guys certainly put this armor to good use, that's for sure.", he laughed. 

"Hmm, this will take some time to fix properly if you want it to be like new again and not just another patch job.", he added.  

"That's fine as I mentioned we're going to get some new armor as well, so whatever amount of time you need to do the armor justice is perfectly ok with me.", the striker explained to him.  

"Sounds good. What's your name? I'll put it on this bag and give you the total cost after you've both picked out your new armor." the owner said as he reached under the counter for a blank tag.  

"The name's Deoku."  

"Deoku...got it. Alright feel free to look around for whatever you like.", the man smiled as he took the bag of old armor and set it aside for repairs later.

Meanwhile, Kenai took his time wandering about the shop, inspecting the sets on display as well as their attached price tags with a grimace.  No wonder they never got around to buying new gear. Even so, whilst Deoku spoke with the shopkeep,  the younger Striker took in all the various designs and materials the displays portrayed, some lightweight for agility and some more heavily armored and padded for defense. He considered one set in particular, admiring the durable yet light material dyed ebony and crimson, a single pauldron extending down the length of the arm. Another beside it glinted with hits polished golden breastplate. 

Although they were certainly attractive sets, Kenai's preference laid more in-between the two styles, something light and versatile yet with just enough reinforcements to give him the added protection he required. Heavy plate and clunky chain mail would only weigh him down unnecessarily and slow him up while no layers at all would certainly leave him far too vulnerable. Off to the side near a corner of the shop, Kenai spotted something more to his liking and made a beeline for it, hazel blue orbs flecked with honey brown roaming every detail in the sets design. The set was made from a thick but breathable embossed leather with four pieces in all on the rack which comprised of a tunic that sported an attached cincher for added support for posture about the waist, a sleeveless overcoat with an attached hood, pants with reinforced knee guards, and a pair of boots that would reach just under his knees. Not only was it functional but it was also fairly stylish.

After finishing up with the shopkeeper Deoku walked over to Kenai. "So anything caught your interest yet?", he asked his student.  

His emerald eyes scanning around as well hoping to land upon something that fits his style and taste. Soon he finds himself looking at a rather regal type of striker armor but ultimately it doesn't hold his attention for very long. While it didn't look bad to him; he was never one to enjoy formal wear or noble attire. Next, he spotted quite the attention-grabbing set. Armored from head to toe in a dark gold with a helmet resembling that of a lion and a mane attached as well. As awesome as it looked the striker knew that would be out of price range for the time being; perhaps another time.  Right at that moment, he spotted something that suited him. A nearly all grey armor with black pants mostly made up of thick leathers and other durable materials. The jacket that covered the outfits lighter layer was more armored itself as well as the arms and shoulders; topped off with a rather stylish hat and cloak.  

"Karlstein, huh?  Not bad.", he thought to himself as his eyes read over the name below the armor's display stand.

Kenai looked up as Deoku joined him, the tag from the set he had been admiring between his fingers. "Uh... well, yeah...." he trailed off, looking back to the price tag for the Nouse set again before letting the tag go and offering a small shrug, hands in his pockets as he looked around the store once more. 

"But, you know... I kinda like my old gear...." It was obvious that wasn't the real truth if once listened to his tone. The younger Striker let his gaze wander elsewhere, doing his best to hide his apprehension in regards to the prices. It was rare when he obtained anything new and it was typical for the boy to be intimidated by lofty prices- whether he felt he didn't deserve it or felt he couldn't possibly afford it was anyone's guess. 

"So you see anything calling your name?" he asked, quickly shifting the topic.

The older striker chuckled a bit not letting Kenai escape just yet this time around, "Yeah there is but we'll get to that in a moment. So I'm guessing this one is the one that interests you then?", he mentioned noticing Kenai trying his hardest to avoid it. "Not a bad pick..certainly suits you." , Deoku said as he leaned in taking a closer look at its quality, materials, and stitching from different angles.  

"I like my old gear too, kid, but it's going to be a while before those are ready. He's going to redo them from the ground up, so they're like new rather than the usual patch job..", the mentor explained.  

"May as well pick something you like you're going to be in it for a while and even after the old gear comes back we can switch back and forth between the two instead of wearing out the same ones constantly. Besides you never know, maybe this one will become your new favorite.", Deo encouraged him.  "Won't know until you try it."

Begrudgingly, Kenai nodded, knowing his Mentor was right as always. He pressed his lips together in apprehension as he eyed the price tag once again, "These prices though... I guess if all our hard-earned money needs to go somewhere, investing in better gear would be the logical thing to do...." He sighed and regarded the armor one more time, "I admit, I like several individual pieces from other sets but as a whole, I do like this one the most."

"Ha, let me explain something Kenai.", Deoku began. "We don't spend much money. You and I lead rather simple lives aside from things we really need. You'd be surprised how much we've saved up over these 6-7 months. We're by no means rich but getting this stuff isn't going to put us on the street anytime soon." he tried to ease the young man's concerns.  

"Not to mention after we get this stuff it'll be right back to living as we always have so the money will get saved up again in no time.", Deoku patted Kenai's shoulder.  "Pick what you want Ken.  Either the full set or whatever pieces you'd like to combine.  Again you have to be comfortable wearing it, so the choice is up to you."

The older Striker's words seemed to put Kenai at ease as he dipped his chin in a nod. Even so, he figured it was best to go about his shopping the smart way, "I think I'll browse a bit more before deciding." 

Leaving Deoku to his own shopping, Kenai took his time to inspect the sets and made notes of the items he took a particular like in and comparing prices. Coming from almost nothing, the boy had learned a long time ago the value of being practical. He made it a point to speak with the shopkeep to make the best decision in his purchase and in the end, he settled on a selection pulled from three different sets that would save him some money, spending about a hundred less than he would have to go with a premade suit.

Once Kenai was settled down and focused more on the armor he wanted, Deoku turned his attention back to the armor he was interested.  He smiled at the outfit, "Now where were we?" 

The striker grabbed the hat and scarf that went with the armor; trying it on in delight. "Oh yes my friend you're definitely coming home with me." he then muttered quietly to himself; enjoying the feel of it so far.

Whilst his mentor admired the finer additions to the set that caught his eye, Kenai busied himself with collecting the pieces that he decided upon for his new set with help from the shopkeeper who removed the armor from the racks. As they set the pieces of gear on the counter, Kenai mentally kept count of the prices. He looked over the armor one more time, satisfied with his final decision and nodded to the shopkeep, "Is there a place I can try it on?"

As he was directed towards a secluded curtained off room near the counter, Kenai gathered his gear and made for the fitting room, intent on feeling how the pieces functioned and moved. With the curtain drawn and an outfitter under the store's employ nearby for adjustments or any aid needed, Kenai drew the curtain and began stripping his casual clothes. The Syahzar armor fit like a dream, the ebon, and crimson material feeling light yet durable across his torso and thighs, a familiar aspect he liked being how closely it resembled components of his Striker uniform. Though typically he was accustomed to being barefoot, the boots were comfortable and the toe reinforced with some width, giving his feet space and arch support to absorb shock, the hood was a bonus for hot days or rainy ones.

Deoku strokes the hairs of his chin, debating on trying on the jacket as well.  He stares at it for a few more moments and grins.  "Well...I have to make sure I enjoy wearing it right?!  Definitely, practice what you preach Deo.", the striker reasoned to himself as he slipped on the jacket taking a look in the mirror at it combined with the hat and scarf.  

"Oh man, me and Kenai are going to be on the battlefield killing them with punches, kicks, and looks at this rate!" he thought with excitement; seeing the style come together as he viewed the reflection of himself.

Kenai finished the last adjustments to the armor he tried on and once satisfied, drew back the curtain to the fitting room and stepped out, pausing to take a gander at himself in the lengthwise mirror, the outfitter moving to assist in making sure all was fitting correctly, tightening buckles whilst Kenai's gaze roamed his reflection. The armor fit his lean form like a glove, perfect for his height, and light enough he could move freely without feeling his limbs snag, the material having the perfect amount of give. With the hood up, the young Striker looked rather dashing like a warrior from Magoria, the black and red complimenting his olive complexion and dark hair.

Not waiting a moment longer; Deoku took the rest of the armor off the display and hurried to the back changing rooms to try on the rest of it. "Looking good there Ken!", the older gentleman shouted quickly on his way by. 

He closed the curtain, got rid of his boots and pants and put on the bottom half of the Karlstein. Deo glanced over at the mirror pleased, but there was still one thing missing. "Ahhh now for the gauntlets," he said as he slipped them on making sure they were fastened and secured. 

The striker checked out his new look from a few different angles. Finally adding the scarf and hat for a few poses. "Yep definitely wearing you as we walk out of this place.", the raven-haired man smiled with his decision.

Kenai felt his cheeks warm a bit as Deoku praised his appearance, watching as the man hurried past to try on his own gear. "Uh- thanks!" He turned his attention back to his reflection, looking it over carefully. Everything sat where it should, keeping him protected in all the right places, and once satisfied visually, he decided to walk about the shop, getting a feel for the mobility. In all honesty, the more he wore it, the more he liked it. His gaze fell upon a pair of gauntlets and vambraces showcased behind the glass of a display counter, the tag reading "Jaguar". He simply had to try them and when the shopkeeper retrieved them and handed them over, Kenai felt the whole set of gear was at last complete as he adjusted the final pieces to his set, flexing his fists.

Deoku took one last look. The full armor reminded him a bit of that of a drifter, which probably would describe him somewhat accurately. After all, it's the first time he and Kenai have settled into any one place for such an extended amount of time.  As he looked on he realized the armor had a cape. 

"Huh...didn't notice you until now.", he thought.  

He knew a cape would be a bit of trouble during combat, but he decided to keep it.  While he may not use it in combat it adds something dashing to the set when just wearing it about town. Deoku finally completely satisfied with his choice took the hat for now. "Alright time to go pay for this stuff.". he opened the curtain and stepped back into the main area; heading over to the shopkeeper to pay for everything.

Kenai was already by the counter, admiring the new gauntlets that encased his arms and hands. As Deoku joined him, his attention rose to the older man, giving him a thorough once over before nodding in appreciation. "That suits you. How does it feel?" he asked, inspecting the armor's design and material as he raised a hand to draw back his hood. 

The pair earned quite a few looks, some of envy and some of appreciation from some of the other customers in the store, even a few passer-bys glancing through the window. After all, the pair were quite eye-catching, with or without the armor.

"Thanks, it definitely spoke to my taste. Yours turned out great as well, definitely your style." he smiled at his friend. 

"It feels good, but like anything new when it comes to shoes and clothes; it needs to be worn in before it gets that perfect feel,"Deo spoke to Kenai as the shopkeeper gave him the price. The striker grabbed his bag of silver; counting out what he'd need. 

"How about yours? Your choices are feeling nice?", he wondered as he gave the owner what money he owed. 

"Give me about a week with your old armor come by and check then; it should be ready.", the shopkeeper explained.  

"Sounds good, we'll see you in a week then.", Deoku said putting on his hat ready to exit the building.

"Honestly, it feels great although I need to get used to the feeling of wearing something new," he admitted as Deoku paid for their new gear. 

Kenai thanked the shopkeeper as they turned to leave, the pair walking out into the morning sun, a few hours out from noon. They had spent quite a bit of time in the shop finding the perfect pieces but now that they had, Kenai felt ready to test his new gear out. "So what's next on our agenda for today?"

"A quick stop to Olive's to grab some food to take with us, and possibly leave this cape with her. Not the best piece to take into combat.", he mentioned pointing a thumb at his back.  

"Then we head over to the outpost, thankfully it's not far from here by horse, so we can be there in less than an hour."

Kenai nodded, drawing his hood up once again, shielding his eyes and face from the sun. "Alright. It will be nice to see Olive again since you always hog her to yourself." he snickered with a playful smirk. 

He flexed his gauntlets once more and his grin grew wider, "I can't wait to test out my new gear. I'm honestly a bit excited for it."

Deoku laughed, "Hey, don't blame me for not seeing her. You know she'd welcome your company whether I'm there or not."  

The older man smiled seeing Kenai excited and enjoying his new gear, especially after being so worried and unsure earlier.  "Don't worry there's going to be plenty of Khuruto to test out that gear.  It'll be nice and broken in by the end of the day."

He grinned broadly at the prospect, straightening his posture as they progressed along their route to Olivette's house. As they drew closer, crossing over the bridge they could already catch the whiff of baked goods on the air, drowning out all other odors in the area. In fact, there were more than a few folks they passed who seemed to be coming from from the half elf's abode, fresh bread loaves or muffins in their baskets, their expressions satisfied. Kenai's stomach already began growling.

"Try not to eat up all our food before we even get to the mission.", Deoku teased his young friend as his stomach rumbled an audible sound. 

Deo himself was more interested in another treat; that mainly being the baker herself. As much as he wanted though he knew he couldn't take up too much time. He wanted to be done with this mission before night or at least as close to done as possible. The creatures of this world get stronger at night for whatever reason and the last place he wants to be is knee-deep in their home turf trying to fight off an army of them with amped up strength.

"I can make no promises!" Kenai laughed as they rounded the corner, their destination ahead. 

The door to Olivette's home slash bakery was open as were the windows, letting the enticing aromas of sweets and loaves of bread drift out into the open air, a few citizens in the garden collecting some of the half elf's produce thanks to her open garden policy. With her apron on dusted with flour and her smock dress sleeves rolled up to her elbows as she busied herself with her latest batch of scones fresh from the oven. Kenai jogged ahead and strolled into the home with a bright boyish grin, "Hiya Olive!" he cheeped jovially. 

The half-elf spun about and beamed the brightest smile, her soft rosy round cheeks dimpled as their pair came in. "Oh, Kenai! Deoku! Good morning!"

"Good morning, Olive! Smells great as always around here.", he smiled, happy to see the elven woman; removing his hat as he entered her home.  

Deoku approached her giving her a kiss. "Hopefully your morning has been going well so far? It certainly looks busy, that's for sure.", he commented observing the steady flow of customers in and out.

Olivette giggled softly as Deoku kissed her, her blush ghosting across her cheeks. "My, but don't you two look handsome? new gear?" she implored, setting the tray of lemon and poppy seed muffins on the counter before removing her oven mitts. She turned back to the pair, "It's been steady this morning but all have been good!" 

Kenai grinned, seeing the older pair together. He had to admit, they were fairly cute together. He walked over and gave Olive a hug in which she promptly squished him lovingly in. Whenever she was near, Kenai often found himself remembering the loving, nurturing warmth of his mother and realized he wasn't opposed to the idea of seeing the kind-hearted woman as such just as he saw Deoku as a father. "I see folk are keeping you busy! Don't work too hard!"

"Yeah, it was about time Kenai and I upgraded a bit. I didn't realize until this morning what a mess the old armor was in.", Deoku explained to Olive. 

" Glad to hear that the approves though.", he grinned hearing her compliment. He watched as Kenai greeted Olive with a hug as well. "Kenai's right they're definitely keeping you busy today. We won't hold you up too long though. From the looks of things if you take your attention away too much the crowd might pile up."he then gestured toward the incoming customers.  

"We were just stopping by for the lunches you said you had for us today, and to see you of course.", the striker added at the end giving his girlfriend a warm loving squeeze. "Oh almost forgot! I'm going to leave this cape in your care for today.", he mentioned. "It could be a bit of trouble if I wear it on our quest today." Deo took the cape off folding it up and carrying to a less occupied area of her home.

Olive perked up, lengthy ears lifting as she remembered the lunches she packed ahead of time for the pair, "Oh! Of course!" She hurried to retrieve the neatly wrapped bundles from her pantry and handed them to Kenai as Deoku found a place to hang his cape, "I packed you both some sandwiches, venison, and sliced vegetables. I hope it will do. And here are your waters- you need to stay hydrated, it's hot out there!"

 Kenai couldn't help but grin as Olive fretted over them, resisting the urge to peek inside his boxed lunch as his stomach grumbled. As she carried on, the younger Striker couldn't help but chuckle, "Yes, mom. We'll stay hydrated- promise!" he quipped playfully to which Olive blushed, her smile fond as she gave the boy a light pinch to his cheek. 

"Grab something before you go, I heard that stomach grumble."

"Don't stress over it Olive.", Deoku commented not wanting her to make too much of a fuss over them.  

"We're just happy someone is making us this delicious food.", he complimented as he placed the item in his bag neatly. "We have some water of our own as well so the extra you're giving us will make sure that we don't sweat it all away.", the striker then turned back to Olive.  

"I've been in there before so hopefully we can make it in and out before night settles in.",Deo reassured her.

Olivette humphed, lengthy ears standing erect as she wagged a finger at him, "You best be! I don't like the idea of you two out there at night. I worry enough as it is so please, be careful." Her brows knitted, concern in her duo-colored eyes as she watched the pair of Strikers pack away their lunches and extra water containers into their packs. 

Kenai offered her a reassuring smile as he patted her shoulder, "Don't worry, it's nothing we can't handle. We'll be back before you know it!" 

He passed a look to Deoku, "Promise I'll bring the old man back in one piece." he added with a cheeky grin and a laugh.

The older man chuckled at Kenai's comment and turned back to Olive, gently cupping her plump cheeks. "We'll be ok. We have each other's backs out there. Besides I'm not letting you off that easy.. there are still many things you and I haven't done together. No way I'm missing out on that. ", he smiled to the serious elf.  "

At the moment you're probably more dangerous than those Khuruto will be, but we'll be careful.  We'll have other people's lives in our hands as well as our own.",Deo gave her another quick peck before grabbing his bag to set out on their mission.

Olive's expression immediately melted into a softer visage as Deoku cupped her cheeks, speaking to her softly. She nodded softly at his reassurances and returned his smooch with a sweet one of her own, watching them head for the door before grabbing a pair of the fresh muffins she had made and hurrying to catch them before they left, placing the baked goods in their hands, "Please be careful! And good luck!" 

Kenai poked his tongue boyishly as his mentor kissed the lovely half-elf, a bit childish but not meaning anything by it and when Deoku gathered his things and headed for the door, the younger Striker followed, pausing when Olive hurried back to them with treats. "Ah- you're a lifesaver! See you later!" With his thanks, he bit into his lemon poppy seed muffin eagerly as they set off back down the road, Olivette waving them off.

"Thanks, Olive! If it's not too late we'll stop by later today when the shops closed if not I'll drop by in the morning. Wouldn't want to wake you up in the middle of the night.", he winked to her as he exited.  

"Try not to overwork yourself in there as well pretty lady.",Deo finally mentioned as he tasted the muffin waving a free hand to her as they headed off down the path to get the horses.

Kenai eyed his mentor with a sidelong glance, a small grin tugging at the corner of his lips as he chewed his mouthful of muffin, "Gross." he remarked playfully. 

He chuckled as he took another bite, the pair crossing back across the bridge to make their way towards the stables where their horses awaited them.  "You know, I just realized she totally has you wrapped around her finger. It's kinda weird to see. Cute, but weird." he commented, thinking back to their interactions and wondering what it was like to have that level of connection with someone. 

Love was a strange thing.

Deoku thought for a moment what Kenai was talking about when he said "Gross", and elbowed Kenai, "Not what I meant! That's only a small part of it....", tried to explain. 

"As for being wrapped around her finger. I'd say I'm more concerned for my head.",Deo commented. "Serious question Kenai. How protective is that hood attached to your armor? Because I'm not sure this hat is going to help against her rolling pin if we don't get back early enough, so you better hope yours is plenty durable.", the man warned as they approached the stable.

Kenai felt his cheeks suddenly burn, blurting out in a stammer at Deoku's words, "W-what? Ew!-No, I was joking about your cuteness together being gross- Deo!" 

Despite the embarrassment at the misunderstanding, he couldn't help but laugh, "Jeeze... dirty old man...." he chuckled as they approached the stables, the stable hand taking note of their approach and already sending for their mounts, 

" Honestly, I'd take that rolling pin to the head if it meant blotting out the images I now have stuck in my head!" He nudged his mentor playfully with his shoulder to show he was completely joking, jesting at his Master's expense.

Deoku shook his head and laughed, "Careful what you wish for.". 

Deoku saw Rain being guided out of the stable and the horse immediately started trotting his way to the dismay of the poor stable hand trying to control him but was almost dragged along. "Hey, buddy!", Deoku greeted his horse, giving his snout a rub. 

"Brought you a few of those special carrots you like.", he dug into his bag and took one out, which the horse gladly started nibbling on.

Kenai grinned as he watched Deoku greet his mount and glanced over as a Demi Beast lead his own horse out of the stables towards his by the reins, the young chestnut stallion flaring his nostrils, ears perked forward, braided tail flicking from one side to the other as Kenai held out a hand to run over the velvety soft muzzle. 

"Ready to stretch your legs, Bjorn?"

Deo kept Rain occupied as the stable hands strapped his saddle on. Once done he mounted the large dark grey animal giving the side of his long neck and pet. "Ready Kenai? Shouldn't take us too long to get there," he asked his friend. "Still making good time too. We'll have plenty of daylight to work with.

With his own mount geared up, Kenai swung himself up into the saddle and situated himself comfortable, nodding to his mentor, "Ready! Let's get on the road, I'm sure those captive don't want to spend a moment longer in captivity than they have to." He steered Bjorn around and let Deoku lead the way, urging his mount forward after him in a full gallop.

The pair flew down the down going around the nearby farm village. The breeze from the ride was nice considering how hot the summer sun beamed down today. Soon they approached a more forested area right in front of the farm’s gates and they turned off on a not well-seen path that became clearer a few feet in. The final stretch found them riding a bit more uphill until the turn leads them right into the gate of the outpost.

They rode with haste, the breeze helping to cool the travelers off on their journey to the outpost, passing by farmers and workers in the field as they went about their daily business. The thunder of hooves kicked up dust in their wake and before long, they arrived at the outpost in good time, their mounts slowing to a trot and then a slow walk. Kenai's hazel blue eyes took in their surroundings, getting his bearings whilst Deoku leads them to where they needed to go.

Deoku halted Rain to a stop as they approached the stable; handing him off to the keepers.  Off his horse, he looked around at the handful of soldiers and knights. As a soldier passed by he quickly asked," Is the Deputy Master Elgriffin around?".  

The soldier pointed over to the woman dealing with one of the elite Khuruto they must have captured.

 "Thanks.",Deoku replied to the busy soldier as he moved on to whatever task he had to take care of.  The striker waited a moment for his partner before going over to the deputy.

Dismounting as they reached the stables, he handed off the reins to the stable hands that came out to greet them, turning about to take in the various soldiers in the outpost grounds and fell into step beside Deoku as he pinpointed the person they were to speak to. Kenai's gaze eventually settled upon the towering, lanky form of the Khuruto and took a moment to scrutinize every detail about it whilst he let the older Striker do all the talking for the time being.

The striker approached the woman prodding at the tall Khuruto with her spear. "I was told you're the deputy master of this outpost, Elgriffin?", Deoku questioned the woman as they walked up.  

"That I am. Who's asking?", she replied, occupied with tormenting the creature.  

"I'm Deoku and this is my companion Kenai. You sent a request for us to come to free a few soldiers the Khuruto took prisoner."  

She stopped what she was doing for the time being and turned to greet the two properly. "Ah yes sorry about that. Between the Harpies and these beast...we have our hands full around here. A little way down that path you used to get up here, they have an entrance to their cave you should be able to easily get to.", the deputy master explained to the two strikers.  

"I really appreciate you both coming out here to do this for us."

Kenai's eyes remained focused on the slender creature as they approached but as Elgriffin spoke, his attention shifted towards her, keeping the Khuruto within his peripheral vision. He let Deoku do all the talking, preferring to listen intently to the information exchanged. In the back of his mind, the rattle of the creature's shackles invoked unpleasant memories but he forced his attention to remain upon the woman as she fed them the information they required.

"Also be aware of their spiked traps", the woman warned Deoku.  

"Don't worry. I'm familiar with those, I'll make sure to keep an eye for them.", the older man replied. 

"Alright, then good luck to you both and please bring back our soldiers as safe as you can. For now, I need to deal with this guy.", she said referring to the captured Khuruto.  

Deoku nodded to her then turned to Kenai, "You ready? You'll finally get to make use of that new gear.", he smiled to his pupil as he made his way toward the camp exit.

Kenai nodded but paused to ask one last question before they departed, "How many soldiers are we looking to retrieve? I'm assuming there must be a headcount of those missing in action?" 

He slid his hood back and paused to tighten his vambraces. He was more than ready to set off but he felt it prudent to at least make an attempt to bring back as many of the missing soldiers as possible. Beating down baddies was all good and fun, but saving lives has always been a top priority and a point of pride for the younger Striker.

[WIP]

[michaelina520imvu-blog]

How to get 20k imvu credits test now

RELEASED IMVU API For Unity

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[russellthornton]

35 Signs You Are Unattractive *and All The Quick Fixes You Need*

Feeling unattractive is horrible. Sometimes it’s hard to know whether it’s all in your head. Here are 35 signs you are unattractive, and how to change!

It’s tough to know how attractive we really are. There are those undeniably beautiful, you know the celebrities and models of the world, and those undeniably ugly—who are famous or ridiculed for being so! However, for the regular person, sometimes we feel pretty great about our physical appearance and some days we feel like we might be the most unattractive person in the world. That is why you need to understand the signs you are unattractive.

So, which one is the right version of ourselves? Are we just being incredibly arrogant when we look in the mirror and think “Oh, I look pretty good today”? Or are we being totally paranoid when we despair at how unattractive we are?

Signs you are unattractive and the quick fixes you need

Let’s face it, while we all have different qualities and flaws about us that make us more or less attractive, there are some signs that we might be leaning towards the pretty or the ugly end of the spectrum.

Of course, attractiveness isn’t wholly to do with our physical appearance, it can be affected by what we wear, how we smell, and our personalities! Let’s look at some signs that demonstrate you might be unattractive.

#1 You are overweight. Being overweight drastically reduces someone’s attractiveness, and it’s dangerous to your health too. [Read: 12 benefits of exercise on your mind, body, and libido]

#2 You have poor personal hygiene. Smelling bad is so off-putting!

#3 Your teeth are bad. A yellow, crooked smile makes someone seem much less attractive.

#4 You never make an effort. If you can’t be bothered to be attractive why would anyone find you so?

#5 You haven’t bought any new clothes in years. Looking like a tramp was so… never. [Read: Attraction theory – What makes you attractive in someone’s eyes?]

#6 You wear ill-fitting or inappropriate outfits. Swampy, baggy clothes are as much of a fashion faux pas as tiny mini dresses on the wrong lady. Find out what suits you and is appropriate for your age!

#7 You have a short tempter. Being snappy and grumpy isn’t attractive at all.

#8 You’re too opinionated. Stop forcing your opinions down everyone else’s throats!

#9 You have bad tattoos. Terrible tattoos don’t go down well!

#10 You have bad hair. A bad haircut really changes how attractive someone is. Make sure you know what you want before you let that stylist get all scissor happy on you! [Read: How to build self-confidence: 16 ways to realize you’re worth it]

#11 You tell bad jokes. A lame sense of humor is a major turn off.

#12 You are overbearing. No one likes feeling as though they controlled.

#13 You are too loud. Just pipe down!

#14 You have bad skin. While it’s not fair that some people are acne prone and others aren’t, bad skin can be off-putting to some.

#15 You talk about things that make other people uncomfortable. Don’t do it!

#16 You are arrogant. While it’s good to be self-assured, overconfidence can be very unattractive. [Read: The subtle differences between a confident person and an arrogant one]

#17 You have no interests. It’s hard to light up the room if you have nothing to say for yourself.

#18 You stoop when you walk. Stand proud, stand tall!

#19 People try to advise you. Take the hint, for goodness sake!

#20 You have a bad attitude. If you are going to be really difficult all the time, people quickly lose interest in you. [Read: 8 attitudes that push potential partners away]

#21 You are lazy. People with energy who get up and go are considered far more attractive than those that sit around in jammies all day.

#22 Your friends give up on you. A bit of a Billy no-mates? It might be a sign that your friends have abandoned you. Are you a lost cause?

#23 You don’t exercise. You’ve got to stay fit, healthy, and strong to be attractive—even if you are not overweight, exercise is important! Does this sound like you? If so don’t despair! There is plenty you can do to turn things around! [Read: 25 inspirational tips to get motivated and work out]

#24 Get healthy. Eating the right foods and drinking plenty of water has a positive effect on how well you look. Cut out greasy junk food and high calorie takeout and eat lots of fresh fruit, vegetables, grains, seeds, and fish. The goodness in these foods boosts your skin and hair and give you a radiant, healthy glow.

#25 Be nicer! If you are known for being cold, cutting, bossy, or annoying, maybe it’s time to step back and think about how you treat people and what you can do to be a little nicer. It really can work wonders, you know! [Read: How to be nice and loved by all, in almost no time!]

#26 Get clean. Personal hygiene is so important. If you haven’t been paying proper attention to yours, now is the time. Shower every day, use nice smelling products and don’t ever forget to wear deodorant!

#27 Get new interests. Interesting people are more attractive as they come across as fun, lively, and intelligent. Get some new hobbies. You’ll not only meet new people but have much more to say for yourself too.

#28 Get a personal trainer. A personal trainer helps get you back in shape and lose weight. Being overweight makes so many of us feel sluggish and depressed. Get moving and start working towards a leaner, trimmer new you!

#29 Get a new job. If you hate your job, then changing things up helps you realize your potential and doing something you love makes you happier. People who are happier and more satisfied with their lives appear more attractive to others. [Read: Follow your dreams: All the amazing reasons why it’s worth it]

#30 Start caring about your appearance. It’s great not to be obsessed with your appearance, but at the same time taking no care often means you fall short of looking your best. Make an effort, at least every now and again, and you’ll feel so much better.

#31 Get a new wardrobe. Throw out those old sweat pants and treat yourself to a shopping spree to get a whole new wardrobe! If you aren’t sure what kind of clothes you should be wearing, head to a department store where personal shoppers can give you advice and help pick out pieces that suit you. [Read: 13 physical attraction moves to look way hotter instantly]

#32 Listen to friendly advice. If your friends have tried to subtly tell you about your bad breath or body odor for a while, instead of getting cross and isolating them, appreciate that they are trying to help you. Then do something about it!

#33 Go to the dentist. If you are worried that your teeth are holding you back, take a trip to your local dentist. They’ll be able to give you advice and options for what you can do to get that perfect bright white smile. [Read: How to look beautiful and oh-so-hot – 15 effortless ways]

#34 Go to the hairdresser. A decent haircut really makes all the difference. If you’ve let your locks get a bit straggly of late, hot foot it down to your local salon for a bit of pampering. [Read: How to look fabulous while trying to get attention]

#35 Get some confidence. Being confident really is half the battle when it comes to attractiveness. Stand tall and proud and have faith that you are one hot piece, and just get out there and enjoy yourself!

[Read: Self-concept: What it is and why it’s crucial to your happiness]

Just remember being attractive is a combination of being beautiful both inside and out. Take care with your physical appearance and try to stay fit and healthy, but don’t forget to be a nice person too. Otherwise, no matter how pretty you are, people just won’t be able to see it!

The post 35 Signs You Are Unattractive *and All The Quick Fixes You Need* is the original content of LovePanky - Your Guide to Better Love and Relationships.

[blamnews]

This Is What A Woman Saved When Only Buying The Important Things For An Entire Year

This post is by a woman named Michelle McGagh who was employed as a journalist reporting on finance.  She ran into budget issues as many of us do and wrote a blog on The Guardian to help others determine things that may be eating up money in places we don’t normally think about.

I noticed that I was spending huge money on things I didn’t really need: trips to the bar, pretty clothes, takeout coffee, and so on. And all this with a mortgage and other big expenses to take care of.

I was lost in a neverending consumer vortex, trusting ads and believing that only by spending could I become happier. Then I got tired of money slipping through my fingers and decided to shake up my old life and change my habits, refusing myself everything but the absolutely necessary.

Expenses I kept:

· Mortgage, utilities, health insurance, help to my parents, donations to charity, the Internet, and cell phone. All these cost me less than $2,000 a month.

· Necessary beauty products (shampoo, toothpaste, deodorant, etc); household chemicals; foodstuffs to cook at home. My husband and I budgeted as little as $35 a week for these needs.

What I left behind:

· Entertainment: cinema, pubs and restaurants, takeout food, coffee shops, vacation travels, and any yummies from supermarkets.

· Gym expenses.

· New clothes, perfume, excess beauty products, hairdresser services.

· Transport expenses (taxi, bus and subway tickets, etc).

I began to:

· Travel everywhere by bike — I’d cycle to work, to meetings, and even out of town.

· Have picnics in a park, travel with a tent, look for free exhibitions and gigs.

· Eat the simplest of home foods, avoiding even chocolate.

· Exercise at home (everyday bike rides did well for most of my exercise, though).

During this year, I’ve learned to efficiently spend money on food. I plan my lunch and dinner in advance, and I have started baking. If I cooked poorly before, now I’m getting fairly good at it.

I won’t pretend it was easy, though, especially the first months when I tried living my old life but with no money. Sometimes, I had an urge to forget all about it and lose myself in a shopping spree, get drunk in a bar, or just buy a bus ticket instead of climbing onto my bike again on a windy day.

However, I understood something important: you don’t have to open your wallet every time you want to have a good time.

· I’ve visited lots of free gigs and festivals, walked around all the parks I could, participated in tons of street sports events, and visited more exhibitions than I ever had before.

· During a vacation, I rode the whole shore of Suffolk and Norfolk with my husband on our bikes, spending nights in a tent. If not for my experiment, I’d never have even tried it — and now I can’t wait to repeat this experience.

There were other drawbacks, of course. I missed new comedies and blockbusters, missed sitting with my friends at a café. My haircut became something crazy without proper care. There were also awkward moments when our friends invited us to their house and we came empty-handed because we couldn’t afford to buy a bottle of wine. However, I washed tons of dishes at my friends’ homes as thanks for dinners they prepared for us.

5 things I really missed:

· Authentic curry. I’ve learned to cook, but my curry is still far from perfect.

· Real flowers. I realized how much I missed them when my friends sent me bouquets for my birthday. I adore them.

· Skin moisturizer. I didn’t include it on the list of necessities, and that was a huge mistake — my face got all weather-beaten.

· Perfume. With that, I’d feel more human, for I had to wear trackies and sneakers all the time, riding my bike every day.

· A bus would be so nice in rainy and windy weather, especially right before important meetings when I really wanted to look great.

In a year, I managed to do what at first glance seemed impossible: I saved $23,000 and partly prepaid my mortgage. And that was such a joy! Before that, I’d thought this burden would hang on my neck for 25 years, but now I realize I can get it done in a much shorter time. Of course, I won’t turn so radical again, but now I know I can refuse myself a lot.

Last year I was often told things like, “Bet you miss shopping a lot!” Well, not really. I realized I didn’t want the fancy clothes I’d spent so much money on before. Fair jeans, a bit of perfume, and a haircut are all I need.

When my experiment came to an end, I didn’t run to the shops. Instead, I bought a beer for my friends and family to thank them for their support, and then I bought a plane ticket to Ireland where my Grandpa lives.

The most important result of the year for me was that I became more open for adventure and new people. I learned to say “yes” to all things new. And I also realized how little I need to be happy.

sources [1] [2] [3]

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This Is What A Woman Saved When Only Buying The Important Things For An Entire Year was originally published on BlamNews